PETAL – One of the oldest adages of football is that the turnover battle will dictate the outcome of a game.
That proved to be the case for Petal as the three costly turnovers and an inefficient passing game led to the Panthers suffering a 45-10 loss to Brandon to open Region 7-3A action.
The turnovers soon came after the Bulldogs took a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Brandon recovered an onside kick and scored four plays later from a 4-yard touchdown run by running back Tyson Robinson.
“We had a couple of breakdowns and a couple of turnovers that gave them great field position,” Petal coach Marcus Boyles said. “The onside kick we knew was coming, and the kid is there, and unfortunately, he didn’t make that play. It hit off his hands.”
Petal’s defense settled in and turned Brandon (5-1, 1-0) away for four straight drives, which included a stop on fourth down and a fumble recovery, but the Panthers could only come up with three points from a 30-yard field goal by Sam Haydel to narrow the score to 14-3.
A lingering issue for Petal’s offense was its passing game, which featured quarterback Eli Causey throwing nine straight incompletions, although not entirely his fault, with Brandon’s defense deserving some credit.
“We just weren’t on for tonight,” Boyles said. “Tip your hat to Brandon. They are really fast on defense.
“They are fast, and we knew we were going to have to drive the ball. We knew they were going to have big plays on offense. You have to drive the ball, get first downs, and keep the chains moving. We didn’t a very good job of that tonight.”
With under two minutes in the first half, Causey threw an interception that was returned to the Panthers’ 35-yard line. Four plays later, Robinson turned a screen pass into a 20-yard touchdown to push Brandon’s lead to 21-3. Petal (4-3, 0-1) responded to start the third quarter with a 10-play drive that resulted in running back Acely Brown punched in a 1-yard touchdown to make the score 21-10.
Despite the offensive momentum for Petal, Brandon answered back just three plays later, with Robinson erupting for a 27-yard run and setting up a 28-yard touchdown pass to Quincy Phillips. Notably, Robinson totaled 101 yards off 10 touches and reached the end zone three different times.
“I thought we came around and had a good drive in that second half,” Boyles said. “We went down and scored, but then they scored in three plays. They three big plays and we needed a three and out right there and didn’t get it.”
Fischer Howell entered the game at quarterback for Petal but was sacked on third and long after Brandon’s quick response. On the next drive, Howell threw a pick-six, ensuring the Bulldog’s victory. Petal’s two quarterbacks combined to go 4-for-15 and passed for 38 yards and two picks. By comparison, Brandon’s two quarterbacks went 18-for-28 for 206 yards and two touchdowns.
“They are a really good football team,” Boyles said. “You can’t make mistakes against Brandon. If you do, then you pay for it. We made too many mistakes and didn’t execute on offense. We didn’t tackle very well on defense.”
Petal will travel to face Pearl next week.
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