Liberty County’s defense held Long County’s rushing attack in check, and the Panthers offense scored on three straight possessions, as the Panthers rolled to a key Region 3-AAAA victory 29-15 Thursday night at Donell Woods Stadium/Kirk Warner Field.

With the win, the Panthers improved to 4-3 on the season and 3-0 in the region. The Blue Tide slipped to 1-5 on the season and 0-2 in the region.

Kalale Green’s 18-yard run with 4:38 left in the third quarter, and Adrian Ronk’s extra point, gave the Panthers a 15-8 lead. They added to that in just two plays on their next possession, as Ja’eir Roberts found a wide open Caheim Anderson down the middle for a 34-yard touchdown pass.

Liberty overcame three penalties of at least 10 yards on its next drive, which culminated in Kaden Livingston’s 13-yard TD run with 8:19 left in the game.

Meanwhile, the Panthers defense held the Blue Tide offense to just 35 yards and one first down over its first four second-half drives.

“The defense played lights out against an offense that had been scoring 30-plus points against everybody named Lowndes,” Panthers coach Tony Glazer said. “All night the defense played superb.”

The Panthers went 89 yards in 13 plays for their first touchdown, a Roberts 1-yard sneak.

Liberty’s defense held on fourth down late in the first half, but the Tide recovered a Panthers fumble at the Liberty County 19-yard line with just 1:04 to go. Markyl Allen bulled his way in from 9 yards out and Jason Scriven Jr. ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-7 lead.

The Panthers had a potential touchdown pass nullified on an illegal shift penalty, and Aaron Brown’s breakaway run was truncated when he stepped on the sideline after a 27-yard gain.

“We were shooting ourselves in the foot,” Glazer said. “We had a lot of penalties and we had to clean that up. It was a very physical first half. We told the guys all week this is a good football team and it’s going to be a four-quarter game.”

Long County hosts West Laurens on October 16 and the Panthers, winners of three straight, visit Southeast Bulloch on October 16.

For more, return to coastalcourier.com or see the October 15 edition of the Courier.