More than steady rain couldn't stop Tiftarea's cheerleaders from keeping spirits high in the bleachers.

CHULA — The Tiftarea Academy Panthers found themselves in an unusual position Friday night, needing a fourth quarter stop, then a first down pickup to secure a victory. They achieved both and improved to 4-0 with a 22-9 win over Frederica Academy.

Mother Nature was as much an opponent as Frederica. A steady rain fell all game until the fourth period, when it began pouring.

“Rain’s a great equalizer,” said Tiftarea head coach Erik Soliday, whose team has now won as many as their last two years combined. In better conditions, they wreak havoc with passing but, the Panthers had to work more on the ground with the slick field.

Soliday said his team did not particularly play well. He thinks the success of the first three weeks affected his squad as much as the weather.

All of the Panthers’ scoring came in the first half.

Frederica began the third period on their own 10 after fumbling the kickoff, but rallied quickly. Jaylen Baldwin ripped a 31-yard run on the first play. A pass interference call moved the ball to midfield, then Baldwin ran for 24 and 11 and consecutive plays.

At the 13, the ball went to Jayden Gibson. He was initially stopped behind the line, but twisted free, reversed course and angled his way into the end zone at 7:35.

Mary Ford Fitzjurls kicked the extra point and the Knights were down 15, 22-7.

Tiftarea caught a break on their possession, picking up a first down at Frederica’s 34 on a roughing the passer penalty, but then Lady Luck turned against them.

The Panthers drove to the 11 with the help of receptions by Caden Grier and John Jackson. Grier got the handoff and rumbled his way to the goal line. He was stripped of the ball there and Frederica fell on it in the end zone for a touchback.

Frederica drove from the 20 to Tiftarea’s 30, but used up the last minute of the third and six more minutes in the fourth.

Grier helped stop the momentum with a big tackle six yards behind the line of scrimmage. A pass was tipped on the next play and when Frederica went to the air again, Jackson Parrish intercepted.

Unfortunately, the turnover came at the Panthers’ 6. Tiftarea tried a direct snap to Jackson to get out of the hole, but the Knights caught up with him in the backfield, resulting in a safety at 5:13.

The 22-point halftime advantage was down to 22-9. Time favored Tiftarea, but they needed to stop the visitors, especially after the Knights began the drive at TA’s 42.

Temond Marcus and Parrish stepped up immediately on a tackle for a two-yard loss. A hold knocked Frederica back further, making it 2nd-and-22. Tiftarea forced an incompletion on second down, then third.

On fourth, Stanton Beverly fired to Gavin Grantham. He got 19 yards, but the Panthers stopped him short of the sticks. Tiftarea got the ball back on downs with 3:21 left.

“We bent a lot tonight,” said Soliday. “We didn’t always break, but we bent a lot. We came up with some stops when we needed to.”

Frederica had two timeouts remaining when the Panthers took back over. Grier immediately gave them help with a 27-yard scamper to the 38.

Kaiden Richardson got seven yards on first down, Grier picked up two more on second. Frederica called its second timeout at 1:22. After Tiftarea was stopped for no gain on third down, the Knights called their last time at 1:13.

Frederica needed a stop on 4th-and-1 to have any chance of a comeback. They were denied by Grier, who picked up four yards to the 25. The clock was under 40 seconds when J.R. Walker kneeled, making it the last play of the game.

Conditions were less than ideal all night, but Tiftarea had no trouble moving the ball early on.

They needed nine plays to take the opening kickoff down to the two, which included a 10-yard pass from Walker to Ridley Monk.

At the 2, Walker powered through the middle of the line for a touchdown at 5:43. Harrison Powell booted the point-after for a 7-0 lead.

Both teams were content to take it slow in the first quarter so much so that in 12 minutes of play, each squad only had one possession.

Marcus ended the first quarter with a sack, then Tiftarea stopped Frederica on downs on the first play of the second.

Grier had a 34-yard reception on the ensuing Panthers’ drive. Frederica got in the backfield for a sack, but Walker shook that off to spot Jackson, who had a man beaten by a step. Jackson reeled in the toss for a 47-yard touchdown at 9:20.

The PAT turned into two when a scrambling Walker got into the end zone.

Tiftarea came up with its first turnover later in the quarter. Frederica threw backwards on a toss sweep, where a Knight was met with a boom by Brody Seagraves. The ball came loose and Parrish corralled the pigskin at the Frederica 31.

Walker immediately ran for 10. The Panthers absorbed a hold that wiped out a Walker rushing touchdown by going to the air — William Garner got 10 on a pass, then Jackson got 10 more.

At the 9, Walker met some resistance as he went around the right side, but had enough momentum when he was tripped that he fell into the end zone. Powell gave Tiftarea a 22-0 lead with 51 seconds left on his kick.

The Panthers almost scored again before the half ended.

Frederica made a try for points before they went into the locker room. One pass was nearly picked, then Jackson intercepted Beverly at the TA 45. Jackson made his way down the sideline all the way to the 5 before he had to step out.

At 1.9 seconds left, Tiftarea had time for one play, but were unable to complete a pass.

Walker completed 7 of 12 passes for an official 130 yards. Jackson caught three for 63 yards and a touchdown. Grier snagged two for 45.

Walker ran for two touchdowns on 17 carries for 86 yards. Grier contributed seven carries for 68 yards.

The Panthers will travel to Westfield Friday.