Heartbreaker ends Panthers’ comeback

Published 11:00 am Sunday, August 28, 2022

CHULA – The Tiftarea Academy Panthers dug out of a deep hole late Friday night, but an even later score by Frederica Academy turned out to be winning margin, 33-27.

A flea-flicker type pass set up the Knights in scoring position and a touchdown in the final seconds spoiled Tiftarea’s comeback.

Not even a minute earlier, the Panthers had climbed out of the hole – 26 points in the 2nd quarter – on a 12-yard pass from Cubbie Crosson to Kam Brown with 45 seconds left that put them up by a point, 27-26.

But heartbreak followed and Tiftarea will head to Central Fellowship next Friday in hopes for their first win.

The comeback was a huge one for the Panthers, who were down 26-0 in the first half before John Jackson caught a 20-yard Crosson pass for a touchdown just before intermission.

“We put ourselves down so far to get out of it,” said head coach Erik Soliday. “When you get down 26 points, it’s tough. They did battle back and took the lead. It shows character. We’re not laying down, we’re going to keep fighting.”

Neither team scored in the 3rd quarter, but Frederica drove inside the 10 before Brown picked off a pass.

That seemed to energize Tiftarea. After passing for one first down, Crosson connected with Pate Suber on a long bomb to get them back into the contest. It was Suber’s first ever varsity touchdown.

Brown reeled in two touchdown passes later in the quarter, the last putting them in front, 27-26. “Took the lead with 45 seconds left,” said Soliday.

Earlier in the game, the Panthers had a drive fizzle out on downs short of the goal line. Matthew Malone picked up a first down on a pass at the 15 and Brown down to the 12, but two incompletions came afterwards.

Central Fellowship improved to 2-0 with a 34-6 victory over Southwest Georgia Academy. Tiftarea won by a similar score over SGA in their scrimmage.