Tiftarea pulls off a nail-biter, 19-18
By Dusty Vassey
CHULA — The Tiftarea Academy Panthers football team needed every point and every yard to pull off a 19-18 upset at home over the Mount de Sales Cavaliers.
Despite falling behind three times to the Cavaliers, the Panthers bounced back every time. Tiftarea’s defense, passing game and kicking game came through at just the right times to come from behind and scrape together a tough win over a higher-classification school. Tiftarea is a GISA Class AA school while Mount de Sales is Class AAA.
“The boys battled and my coaches did a great job,” said Tiftarea head coach Chuck Moore.
The game looked to be a defensive struggle from the start as neither team scored on the first four possessions of the game. Finally, early in the second quarter, Mount de Sales put together a 15-play drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. Senior running back Cortney Newmans, who finished with 92 yards rushing, ran the ball into the end zone from five yards out. Cavalier kicker Daniel Brennan’s extra-point try went into the Tiftarea line and Mount de Sales led 6-0 with 5:00 left in the first half.
The Panthers were determined to score before the half expired. Starting after a failed fourth-down try by Mount de Sales, the Panthers got a 25-yard pass from Matthew Souter to Daniel Griner on second down to set them up inside Cavalier territory.
After the teams traded penalties for several plays, the Panthers had first-and-10 at the 27-yard line with less than a minute left. Souter threw a pair of passes to Thomas Ganas in the end zone. Ganas caught both passes but was ruled out-of-bounds on both plays. After the second failed pass, the horn for the end of the half blew, but the officials ruled that Tiftarea still had one second on the clock.
The Panthers lined up for a kick and Souter booted a 44-yard field goal with no time left, and Tiftarea trimmed the lead to 6-3.
Souter’s play on defense set up his team’s next score. He picked off a Johnny Walsh pass inside Cavalier territory. Tiftarea could not move the ball though and Souter kicked a 40-yard field goal to tie the game at 6-6 with 5:55 left in the third quarter.
The Panthers did not get to enjoy the tie game for long. On the Cavaliers’ first play from scrimmage, Walsh took off down the sideline for a 68-yard touchdown run. Again, Brennan’s kick failed and Mount de Sales led 12-6.
Tiftarea answered back. The Panthers put together a drive that included a 19-yard run by Josh Beaty, a 15-yard pass from Souter to Ganas, and a 17-yard run by Souter to set up first-and-goal. From there, Beaty ran straight up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown. Souter’s kick sailed wide right and the score was tied again at 12-12.
Tiftarea’s defense seemed to have Mount de Sales stopped on the next drive, but Brennan scampered 18 yards on a fake punt. The Cavaliers continued to drive down inside the Panthers’ 20, but turned the ball over on fourth down.
Again, Tiftarea had little time to celebrate. On the Panthers’ first play, Beaty had the ball stripped by Newmans and the Cavalier linebacker returned the ball for a 20-yard return touchdown. Again, Brennan missed the extra point, and Mount de Sales led 18-12.
Tiftarea would not be denied the victory. On second down, Souter hit Ganas for a 51-yard pass play that took Tiftarea to the Cavalier 19. Two plays later, Souter dumped the ball off to Andrew Kicklighter who dodged a defender and dashed into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown pass. Souter’s leg was reliable again, kicking the huge extra point that gave Tiftarea its first lead of the night. The Panthers led 19-18 with 2:20 left in the game.
With the crowd cheering and the sideline shouting, the defense stood tall. The Tiftarea defense got sacks from Zach Phillips and Tripp Giddens on the Cavaliers’ final drive, and Giddens’ sack was on fourth down. Souter downed the ball on the next three plays and with three seconds left, he dashed backward 33 yards on fourth down until the clock expired to secure the win.
“This is definitely an upset win, and I can’t say enough doing the little things,” said Moore. “This was a little bit more than little.”David Barton and Kicklighter led Tiftarea with eight tackles each. Alex Moore, Matt Buhler and Giddens each had seven stops. Kent Hill and Souter had six tackles each, and Cody Johnson had six tackles in the first half before suffering an injury.
Souter completed 7-of-23 passes for 157 yards. Ganas caught three passes for 78 yards. Beaty had 74 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Walsh had 147 yards rushing and 50 yards passing for the Cavaliers.
