BRANDON — Petal needed a boost of confidence, and they found it in the second half against region foe Brandon.
Behind the play of quarterback Jackson Allen and a stingy defense, the Panthers were able to shutout Brandon 21-0 on Thursday for their first win in Region 3-6A and to snap a three-game losing skid.
With the win, there is now a four-way tie with teams at 1-2 in Region 3-6A between Petal, Brandon, George County and Meridian.
“I thought it was a hard-fought game by both teams, and we were able to catch some breaks early,” said Petal coach Marcus Boyles. “We couldn’t get into a rhythm on offense early, but in the second half, we did get enough big plays, and I’m proud of offense and the kids for keeping on fighting.”
The game’s first touchdown didn’t come until 5:22 left in the second quarter on a 3-yard run by Jeremiah Robinson.
The scoring drive was capitalized on a Micah Cherry interception at the Petal 4-yard line. On a third-down play, Allen hit Blake Roberts on a 77-yard pass play. Then on fourth-down, Colby Carlisle mishandled a snap on a field goal and instead ran the ball for a first down at the 3-yard line, and Robinson then scored on the next play.
In the second half, Allen connected with Cherry on an 87-yard touchdown pass with 4:52 left in the third quarter to extend the Panther lead to 14-0.
Allen finished the night 10 of 16 for 250 yards with a touchdown to lead Petal (3-3, 1-2 Region 3-6A).
“I felt like we played a little slow in the first half and picked it up in the second half with the receivers doing a great job to get open,” Allen said. “We knew all week the playoffs started for us this week, and we executed enough to get the win.”
Roberts then sealed Petal win with a 48-yard pick-six to put the Panthers up 21-0.
The Petal defense held the Brandon offense to just 151 yards of total offense.
“Our defense they’ve been on the field a lot, and tonight they stood big and played great. Offensively we were big and played great. Offensively we were able to get the passing game going but had two turnovers in the red zone, and we need to fix that,” Boyles said. “Our backs were against the wall, and we needed this win and I’m super proud of the kids for their effort.”
Doby Bartling had 59 yards passing to lead Brandon (3-4, 1-2) while Nate Blount added 58 yards rushing.
“Defensively, we played well enough; just offensively we are struggling,” said Brandon coach Tyler Peterson. “We got to find our identity and are struggling for consistency playmakers, and that falls on me. That’s my job, and we got to improve.”
