Jackson County 48, Oconee County 35: Shoot-out win moves JCCHS closer to ...

The Panthers’ Dustin Scott ripped off a 91-yard touchdown run with just over three minutes left Friday to seal an eventful 48-35 win for Jackson County over Oconee County in Watkinsville. Click here for photos.
Scott’s run was part of an astounding 318-yard performance for the senior and a 701-yard night for the Jackson County offense.

The win gives the Panthers five victories in a year for the first time in 20 years and keeps Jackson County’s playoff hopes very much alive with just two games left.

“We’re very excited,” Scott said. “From the score we heard about Hart and Elbert (Hart County won 6-0), we’re still in it and we’re willing to fight for it. We’re still in the fight.”

The 701 yards are most likely a Jackson County school record and a career-best for first-year coach Benji Harrison who said he doesn’t remember having a 700-yard outing while serving as play caller at Flowery Branch.

“That’s a first for me,” he said. “That’s a first for any of our guys on staff. We knew we were moving the ball. I didn’t know we were moving it quite that good. It’s just a credit to our kids making plays. It’s pretty fun. If we can get the offense rolling, we think it’s pretty hard to defend.”

Scott’s long touchdown run capped a hectic series of events for Jackson County (5-3, 3-2).

Up 41-35, the Panthers — driving to ice the win — fumbled away the ball on the Oconee County 24 with 5:32 left in the game. Warrior quarterback Connor White then threw a 75-yard pass to Chase Major that put the Warriors (2-6, 1-4) on the Panther one-yard line. Seemingly ready to take the lead, Oconee County, however, fumbled the snap on the next play and Jackson County’s Evan Breakspear recovered.

Three plays later, Scott — breaking numerous tackles — bounced outside and sprinted 91 yards to pay dirt to give the Panthers a two-possession lead at the 3:36 mark. Scott was initially stopped short of a first down but twice broke out of the grasp of Oconee County tacklers and kept moving laterally until he found running room on the outside.

“(It’s) Just remembering all the steps we go through in our running back drills,” he explained. “Just keep driving. Just keep pushing with your legs and I ended up breaking a few (tackles) and I remembered jump-cuts. I had to get out there and break some open-field misses and from there it was just about speed.”

It was a night of big plays as four of Jackson County’s touchdowns covered 45 yards or more. The 48-points were a season high for the Panthers.

“The offense was absolutely solid,” offensive lineman Josh Ingram said. “We had a great week of practice and preparation. After last week at Hart (County), we said ‘no.’ That’s not us. We pulled it together this week. We put drives together, we put it in the end zone.”

That was due in no small part to the offensive line.

“The line — solid,” Ingram said. “Oh my goodness. I’m so proud of my boys. I’m absolutely proud of them. Obviously, as everybody knows, you can’t win without the offensive line ... We played our hearts out tonight.”

The Panthers trailed 25-21 at the half with Kyle Daniel — who had four touchdown passes on the night — throwing scoring strikes of 12 and 27 yards to Xavier Harper. Kyle finished 25-of-38 for 331 yards, while Harper enjoyed a 126-yard receiving night. Jackson County’s other score came off a 90-yard kickoff return from Keyshaun Curry.

“We thought at halftime if we did what we were supposed to, we’d have a good chance,” Jackson County coach Benji Harrison said.

Jackson County scored on its first drive of the second half with Ben Brissey making a one-hand grab to haul in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Daniel to put the Panthers ahead 28-25. Then with three minutes left in the third quarter, Scott broke free for a 53-yard score to up the lead to 35-25. Scott had 144 of his yards on just two runs.

“I felt like Dustin would have to play well for us and he did,” Harrison said. “We needed to run the football effectively, and we did.”

The night was long from over, however.

Oconee County cut into the lead with a 67-yard touchdown pass from White to Keenan Brown, but Jackson County answered with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Daniel to Brissey as the Panthers took a 41-32 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Warriors pulled to within six points early in the fourth quarter with a 35-yard field goal, but Jackson County answered with a drive deep into Oconee County territory. That’s when the Panthers coughed the ball up and gave the Warriors new life, however.

“Obviously, we’ve got to put games away,” Harrison said. “That’s a couple weeks in a row where we’ve had opportunities to put them away and we didn’t.”

On the very next play, White hit Major who motored down the right sideline but was pulled down by Jackson County’s Todd Woodring at the Panther one. That could have been the defensive play of the night because Oconee County coughed the ball up on the next snap.

“We got it and it was awesome for us,” said defensive lineman and captain Chris Foster. “We knew that when that happened, it was a game-changer for sure.”

This was Jackson County’s first-ever win over Oconee County and assures the Panthers of at least a .500 finish. More importantly, Jackson County remains in control of its own destiny in the state playoff race.

“We know what we’ve got to do,” Harrison said. “There’s no doubt. There’s two big games against two really good football teams coming up so we’ve got to have another great week of practice and let’s see what happens.”

These are exciting times for Jackson County as it tries to qualify for the postseason for the first time in 20 years.

“They always said that this class would be the one to do it,” Foster said. “I always hoped it was, and I always knew it could be. We’ve got a chance to do it, so let’s do it.”

Ingram said things were “crazy” right now.

“I mean the excitement is unbelievable,” he said. “My heart is pounding as we speak. It’s ridiculous. We just want to go out there and play our hearts out, finish this season and go on to the postseason. That’s what we’re looking for. We’re looking for playoffs.”