Amanda Elzy overcame sloppy field conditions and some sloppy play on offense to notch its first Region 3-4A win.
The Panthers got a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Jermaine Whitehead and a salty performance from the defense en route to an 18-8 victory over J.J. McClain Friday night at Elzy’s R.R. Pickett Field.
Elzy improves to 4-2 overall, 1-1 in league play, while McClain falls to 2-6, 0-2.
“This is a game we had to have; we couldn’t start 0-2 in the district,” Elzy coach Eric House said. “I told our guys earlier in the week we had a four-game season left, and that if we won out, we would win the district. That’s one down and three to go.”
The Panther defense socked it to the Mustangs most of the night. McClain’s only score came on 55-yard pass off a trick play.
“Our defense has been solid all year. Those guys have kept us in a a lot of games,” House said. “I give all the credit to my defensive coaches, Fred Ford and Monroe Golden. They’ve had those guys ready to go.”
Elzy’s first touchdown came on its second possession of the game following an interception by Whitehead, who picked off the pass at his own 30-yard line and returned it 16 yards.
Three plays later, Whitehead hit Jalen Jones with a 54-yard TD strike on a fade route down the left sideline. The try for two was no good.
Following a three-and-out by the Mustangs — thanks to a third-down sack from Darron Bullock — the Panthers needed just six plays to score from 59 yards out.
Whitehead had a 45-yard run to key the drive and then capped it with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Christopher Stewart. The two-point play failed, leaving Elzy with a 12-0 lead with 6:11 left in the second quarter.
McClain had a chance to cut into that lead just before halftime with a first-and-goal at the 7, but Whitehead broke up a fourth-down pass to preserve his team’s first-half shutout.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Mustangs struck with a 55-yard touchdown off a double pass. The two-point pass made it 12-8.
Elzy came right back with a touchdown on its next play as Lakendrick Kennedy broke free for a 55-yard touchdown run. He bounced off a couple of would-be tacklers in the middle and sprinted around the right end for the score.
The two-point try failed, leaving Elzy up 18-8 with 11:33 to play.
Jones picked off his second pass of the game in the final minute to prevent a possible McClain touchdown.
Kennedy finished with a team-high 73 yards on 10 carries, while Whitehead added 66 on 10 carries.
Elzy will host a tough Cleveland team this week in a must-win game if the Panthers are to have a shot at a district championship.
