Liberty County High School

Panthers lose by a TD at homecoming

Thomson High School at Liberty County High School

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The Liberty County Panthers fell to 0-2 in region 3-AAA as the Thomson High Bulldogs took a 28-21 victory at the newly dedicated Donell Woods Stadium Friday night.
The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard first by capitalizing on a Panther fumble on their opening offensive drive. On their second offensive drive the Bulldogs' Jeremy McGahee ran the ball for 40-yards to extend the Bulldogs' lead 14-0.
But the Panthers' responded with a kick return with Roderick Jones fielding the ball at the Panther 40 and taking it all the way to the Bulldogs' eight-yard line.
Panther quarterback Julian Stokes found Jermaine Mitchell who broke a tackle to make the end zone. Eddie Chipple was successful on the point after.
Focusing on McGahee, the Panthers defense squashed rushing attempts on tackles by Trier Bennett, Thomas Penny, Artavious Frost, Brandon Alvin, Demetrick Mothershed and Marcus Jefferson. The Bulldogs were forced to punt.
Despite good field position, the Panthers' found themselves in a punt scenario. But Panther coach Kirk Warner wanted to try something different and faked the snap to Chipple. The ball was snapped to Donte Jones who made enough to move the chains, giving the Panthers a fresh set of downs.
With the ball inside the Bulldogs 20, Stokes found Nathan Williams for a catch at the 12-yard line. Roderick Jones carried it for the touchdown and it was tied 14-14 to close the half.
Panther Tucory Rhodes introduced himself to the Bulldogs quarterback by sacking him for a 15-yard loss to open the third quarter. On the next snap three other Panthers decided to introduce themselves as well, knocking the Bulldogs in to fourth and 30-yard and a punt.
Thomson's defense returned the favor by forcing a punt. Neither team scored in the third quarter. Thomson started controlling the clock in the fourth. Thomson opened the fourth quarters with a drive placing the ball at the Panthers' three-yard line. The Bulldogs barreled through the center for their third touchdown.
Stokes connected to Mitchell on another pass and Demetrius Stinson carried to mid-field. The Bulldogs were flagged for 15-yards after trying to take Stokes down by the facemask. Stokes on two back-to-back carries gives the Panthers two more first downs. But Stokes was sacked. Chipple was brought out for a 40-yard field goal attempt that fell a little short.
With a little more than two minutes left in the game, Thomson scored again making it 28-14.
The Panthers went to a hurry up offense and Stokes carried the ball for a first down on a fourth and eight. He then completed a pass, missed a pass and then connected to Roderick Jones, who took the ball out of bounds. After moving the chains a pass was incomplete. Stokes ran the ball and stopped the clock with 54 seconds. The Bulldogs were flagged and it gave the Panthers a new set of downs.
Stokes took the ball out of bounds to stop the clock at 6.5 seconds with the Panthers on the five-yard line. Stokes found Stinson for the touchdown pass to bring the Panthers with one touchdown. But time was up and the Bulldogs won 28-21.
"I told our guys after the last home game we are not going to worry about what calls we get and what calls we don't get," Warner said about a play where it appeared a Thomson player clipped a Panther but was not called. "We just have to play football. They (Thomson) played hard tonight. I tip my hat to them. They are the number 10 team in the state."
Warner said his team continues to fight, especially during the second half. But said his players have to come out more mentally focused and want to win. He told his squad after the game they need to focus on football even after practice is over.
"We still have four more games win."