Class 5A Shelby County handed Georgiana its third loss on Friday night, beating the Panthers 41-14.

SCHS’s offense hit the field clicking on all cylinders after a Panther four-an-out with Tae Lewis and Darion Sutton carrying the load.

The contrasting duo led the Wildcat offense quickly down the field with Lewis dashing his way in for a 1-yard touchdown run. All was well with the Wildcats out with the 7-0 lead.

Georgiana’s Kevin Brogden answered connecting, with a wide open LaCory Savage for a touchdown strike from the Wildcat 29-yard line.

With the score knotted at 7-7, SCHS had to answer and they did, scoring three straight touchdowns.

Just as the game looked to be all but over, the Panthers weren’t done.

Deven Cheatham took the ball on an option pitch and cruised 53-yards down the field for the score.

Going into the half the Panthers had the Wildcats on edge only trailing 28-14.

The Panthers caused chaos for the Wildcats at times rolling up 174 yards of total offense. One thing is for sure, the Panthers will stroll back down Highway 65 south with one key piece to a winning puzzle—confidence.

Despite the loss, Panther Head Coach Shane Smothers saw positives on the night.

“We had some mix-ups there in the first half and I think it was because our kids were so excited about playing. I think being the underdog tonight helped us. I am very proud of our kid’s effort and they came out and played without being intimidated”, Smothers said.

“We’re going to be a good 1A team and we came out here tonight to prove we are better than what our record shows”, he added. - Staff Reports