The Georgiana Panthers started off slowly against Coffeeville, but used a breakout performance in the second half by Deven Cheatham to pull out a 26-13 win over Coffeeville.

In the first half, Georgiana went ahead 6-0 on a score by Cheatham, but Coffeeville came back with two touchdowns to lead 13-6 at halftime.

“Deven only had 11 yards rushing in the first half, but he had 177 in the second half,” said head coach Shane Smothers. “We made some adjustments and had a great second half. The linemen did a great job of blocking for Deven.”

“We were just flat in the first half. That’s the best way to put it,” Smothers said.

In the second half, Cheatham scored three more times, and he finished the game with three rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown.

“Even though it’s a win, I’m disappointed in the way we came out,” Smothers said. “We were lackadaisical. I want four quarters of football.”

“But it was a good region win, and it was good for us to come back and hold out in the second half,” he added. “Now we’ve got to get ready for homecoming.”