Tiftarea senior Clay Tapp fights for extra yardage after catching a pass in the second hal off the Panther’s season-ending game Friday night. The Panthers went on to defeat Trinity Christian, 17-15.

The Tiftarea Academy Panthers used two fourth-quarter goal line stops to hold on and steal a 17-15 victory from a favored Trinity Christian team. The win gave the Panthers their third victory of the season and most importantly, sent the seniors out in winning fashion.

Trinity struck first, taking advantage of a short field to go 26 yards in six plays. The drive was capped by running back Sean McNatt’s burst from four yards out to give the Crusaders a 7-0 lead with 7:03 left in the first.

Two drives later the Panthers ended a Crusader drive when junior Jordan Cox fell on a fumble to give the Panthers’ offense possession near midfield. Seniors Josh Woods and Clayton Dukes then hooked up on a 32-yard pass on the first play of the drive to set Tiftarea up deep in Crusader territory. Four plays later, Sumner McWhorter found the endzone from two yards out to tie the game at 7-7.

Late in the second quarter the Panthers managed to march down the field riding the arm of Woods, who found Clay Tapp for gains of 16 and 23 yards. Although the Panthers failed to get into the endzone, they got into field goal range for senior Garrett Rippy, who drove home a 37-yard attempt to give the Panthers a 10-7 lead with 19 seconds left in the first half.

The Panthers then turned again to senior ball carrier McWhorter, who carried the ball six times on Tiftarea’s 66-yard drive before finally getting into the endzone on a 3-yard run. The score extended the Panthers’ lead to 17-7 with 3:39 left in the third quarter.

The Crusaders then battled back with a 14-play 58-yard drive that took them all the way to the Panther goal line. The Panthers proved their defense to be solid, however, and stopped the Crusaders on four attempts to give the offense the ball back.

Just four plays later the Panthers were forced to punt out of their own endzone. The Crusaders found a way through the line and blocked Tapp’s punt out of the back of the endzone for a safety, bringing the score to 17-9.

Again it would come down to Panther defense.

Trinity managed to drive within Tiftarea’s five-yard line, but again came up empty and turned the ball over on downs on Tiftarea’s three-yard line.

“The goal line stands proved huge for us tonight,” head coach Marvin Barton said. “The defense played hard and that was something we have been looking for all season.”

After forcing a punt, the Crusaders finally bulled their way into Tiftarea’s endzone to cap an 8-play 57-yard drive. Quarterback Chris Hobbs was credited with the score from 8 yards out.

Trinity Christian then took a page from LSU head coach Les Miles’ book when the placeholder tossed the ball over his right shoulder to a sprinting kicker that was immediately met by sophomore defensive back Eric Lee.

Although the Panthers gave up the touchdown, the defense was not fooled on the two-point conversion and Tiftarea was able to hold on and  get the 17-15 region win to close out the season.

“It’s a big win for us,” Barton said. “We were hungry for that and the guys fought hard to get it. I am very proud of the way they played tonight.”

For 17 members of the Panthers’ squad, the win meant the end of a Tiftarea football career— something that hit home not only to the seniors but also to Barton, who began his career with Tiftarea when this year’s graduating class entered high school.

“They are a very special group of guys who have impressed me a great deal over the years,” Barton said. “They have all proved themselves as leaders and have set a standard for the younger guys to play by.”