Veterans holds on, beats Perry 21-14

With 2:02 remaining in the game and the Panthers facing a fourth and 16, senior quarterback Damion Bagley reared back and let go of a pass that was surely enough for either a first down or a potential game-tying touchdown. The pass ended up being neither as it sailed over the head of both the Perry receiver and the Veterans defensive back in charge of defending him. The Warhawks would run out the remainder of the time left in the game and finally a take a knee just before the buzzer sounded on a 21-14 victory. The Warhawks have now won two straight and three of their last four games heading into a bye week. “Can’t get any better than going into an off-week with a win,” said Warhawks head coach David Bruce prior to kickoff. Veterans opens regional play on Oct. 7 at Bainbridge High School. “We competed well and we didn’t quit,” says Panther head coach Carl Dixon. “The coordinators, Randy Moss (defensive) and David Thrower (offensive), had the kids prepared and we got better.”

Veterans and Perry traded three-and-outs to open the game. Panther senior defensive lineman Terrell Lumpkin and Carl Whitehead contributed on a number of tackles for loss throughout the first quarter. On their third drive of the game, Veterans junior quarterback Leyton Pinckney completed a pass to fellow junior receiver Jeremy Horton that went for 30 yards after Horton broke two Panther tackles. That play put the Warhawks deep in Panther territory but failed to net them any points after sophomore kicker/punter James Tinney missed a 30-yard field goal attempt. Veterans wouldn’t score their first points of the game until late in the first quarter following a three and a half minute drive that concluded with a 1-yard scoring run by senior running back Landon Quarles.

Quarles would score the Warhawks’ second touchdown of the game early in the third quarter from five yards after a 31-yard run by senior running back Kori Walker. The Panthers spent more than half of the game without a single red zone possession before junior running back Jaqueveon Watkins running back broke free for a 30-yard run. That play was followed by a pass from senior quarterback Damion Bagley to senior receiver Jhi’Marre Brown for 15 yards and a touchdown to cut the Panthers’ deficit to 14-6 following a missed extra point attempt. The Warhawks would immediately answer back in the fourth quarter with a four-minute drive highlighted by 10-yard and eight-yard carries by Walker and capped by a one-yard touchdown run by senior running back/receiver/defensive back Amarian Brown.

Perry would pull within seven points on a Bagley 20-yard pass to senior receiver Justin Leonard. A successful two-point conversion would be the last points the Panthers scored in the game. “It was a great win for our school as a whole,” says Pinckney. Perry has been a rival for a while and this years group of [Veterans] seniors will graduate 4-0 against them.” Bruce says, “We played well on defense, especially during the first half, so all in all I feel pretty good about the effort.”