The Liberty County Panthers will be hard-pressed to match Friday night’s drama.
Trailing by as many as 21 points midway through the third quarter, the Panthers outlasted the visiting Long County Blue Tide to pull out a wild 40-34 overtime win at Donell Woods Stadium.
After holding the Tide on fourth down on their overtime possession, the Panthers got the game-winner from Elijah Brown, a 3-yard run to cap their only OT series.
“That was one of the best football games I’ve ever been a part of,” Panthers coach Tony Glazer said. “For as bad as we played defensively in the first half, we really settled in the third quarter and pretty much held them to nothing in the second half.”
With the win, the Panthers go to 3-1 on the season and 2-1 in the region. The Tide fell to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in Region 3-AAA.
Liberty had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Aidan Ronk couldn’t connect on a 20-yard field goal with 2 seconds left.
Down 34-13 after Dylan Tyler’s quarterback sneak with 5:16 left in the third quarter, Jaeir Roberts found Aaron Brown on a 36-yard touchdown pass with 3:19 remaining in the period.
Roberts found Kalale Green in the back of the end zone on the first snap of the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 34-26.
Brown shrugged off a handful of Tide defenders and bolted for a 39-yard touchdown run on the Panthers’ next possession. He barged his way into the end zone for the two-point conversion, tying the game 34-34 with 7:20 left.
The Panthers defense forced an incompletion on fourth and 4 at their own 45 and behind Brown, got to the Long County 3 before attempting the go-ahead field goal.
On fourth and 2, Rashaud Woods sacked Tyler, ending the Tide’s overtime series. Three plays later, Brown plowed in from the 1, ending the game and sending the Panthers sidelines into jubilation.
“Our offense bailed us out and kept us in the game, and our defense got stops when we needed them,” Glazer said. “I’m proud of our guys.”
The Tide rolled up 319 yards of offense in the first half alone, and scored on its first four possessions. They scored on the first play of the game, a 70-yard burst from Wesley Williams.
Set up by Tyler’s 45-yard strike to Williams, Tyrell Grayson scored on a 2-yard run on the Tide’s fourth snap of the game, giving them a 14-6 lead.
On the first play of the next series, Tyler rolled left and found a wide open Cortney Charles for a 66-yard touchdown pass. Tyler found an open Charles again on the first play of the second quarter, connecting on a 33-yard strike and a 27-6 lead.
Brown, who had four touchdowns on the night, got his second score with 8:45 left in the first half, a 5-yard run.
The Tide will host Beach on September 19 in a region game and the Panthers will travel to play Islands.
For more, see the September 18 edition of the Coastal Courier.
