GAUTIER – In the end, failing to convert on three scoring opportunities hurt the Lumberton Panthers. The Resurrection Eagles punched their ticket to the 1A South State Championship Friday night, beating Lumberton 20-12 at Vaughn-Wallace Stadium on the campus of Gautier High School.
“We knew what it was going to be coming down here,” Lumberton coach Zach Jones said. “We knew what we were getting in to. The kids played hard. Hats off to them. I’m still at a loss right now. I hurt for our kids.”
Red zone opportunities
On the opening drive of the game, the Panthers marched down the field quickly to the Eagles’ 23-yard line. Runs of 3, 3 and 6, plus a facemask penalty, gave Lumberton the ball in Resurrection territory. Then, a couple of short passes from junior Jared Tribett to senior Donnell Buckner gave it an early scoring opportunity.
In what turned out to be a theme of the night, the Panthers turned the ball over in the end zone when Resurrection’s Norman Douglas intercepted a Tribett pass on fourth down. No harm was done, however, as the Eagles punted after putting together an eight-play drive.
“We had some of that early in the season,” Jones said of his team’s struggles to score deep in opponents’ territory. “It bit us tonight.”
Lumberton would go three-and-out on its next possession, and Resurrection would take over on Lumberton’s 45. The Eagles needed six plays to find pay dirt, and on fourth down, too. Eagles’ quarterback Blake Porter connected with senior Patrick Lee for a 33-yard score to give the home team a 6-0 lead.
On the Panthers’ ensuing drive, they’d reach the Eagles’ 15-yard line before turning the ball over on downs, but the biggest missed opportunity came with four minutes left in the game with the Panthers trailing 20-12.
At the Resurrection 11-yard line, a 1-yard gain by Tribett and a 3-yard pickup by junior Davion Edwards put the ball at the 7, then back-to-back incompletions ended any chance for a game-tying score. Bucker looked to have a fourth-down catch in the end zone, but the ball popped out when he hit the ground.
“I think the guy came in and knocked it out at the very last second,” Jones said. “Great play by their guy.”
Lumberton’s third quarter
With the game tied at 6 at halftime, Resurrection went three-and-out, and after gaining one first down, Lumberton punted as well. On the Eagles’ second offensive play on their second drive, senior running back Jerry Johnson fumbled and senior Kee’von Fells picked the ball up for Lumberton and ran it in from 15 yards out.
That gave the Panthers a 12-6 lead.
On the next Resurrection drive, the ball slipped out of Porter’s hands and senior Krishaun Fairley scooped and returned it for a long touchdown, but a holding penalty brought the play back. Lumberton would eventually go three-and-out and punt the ball away.
“It felt good,” Jones said of his team’s momentum in the third quarter. “We just couldn’t ever get that score to put them away. We moved the ball up and down the field and we just couldn’t ever get it in the end zone.”
Resurrection’s resurgence
Up until the 1-minute mark of the third quarter, Lumberton had all of the momentum. The Panthers were holding the Eagles’ offense down for the most part, and Resurrection couldn’t move the ball on the ground effectively.
That was until it got the ball back with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Resurrection coach Scott Sisson said his players figured out what to do differently on offense.
“Their coaches did an outstanding job of understanding how to slant and which direction we were going with the ball,” Sisson said. “Finally our kids were able to figure it out and they were able to come and let our coaches know, so we knew what plays to call. The kids get all of the kudos for that.”
The Eagles used six straight running plays to collect 20 yards to move the ball to Lumberton’s 32. A 14-yard pass from Porter to senior Caden Himman set up an 18-yard touchdown pass to Lee to retake the lead, 13-12.
Porter finished the night 211 passing yards and two touchdowns on 14-for-25 passing. Lee was second on the team with 61 receiving yards and led the offense with two touchdowns on three grabs. Himman recorded a game-high 110 yards, too.
After a Lumberton three-and-out, Resurrection built another scoring drive, and it took only four plays, too. A good punt return put the ball at the Panthers’ 20, and Johnson avenged his fumble earlier in the half by scoring a 6-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 20-12 lead.
(Photo by Amanda McCoy/The Sun Herald)
Resurrection 20,
Lumberton 12
Score by Quarter
Lumberton 0 6 6 0—12
Resurrection 6 0 0 14—42
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
R —Lee 33 pass from Porter, (kick no good), 0:23.
Second Quarter
L —Tribett 1 run, (2-point failed), 0:21.
Third Quarter
L —Fells 15 fumble recovery, (2-point failed), 8:57.
Fourth Quarter
R —Lee 18 pass from Porter, (kick good), 9:54.
R —Johnson 6 run, (kick good), 6:24.
TEAM STATISTICS
L R
First Downs 13 13
Rushes-Yards 37-104 27-78
Att-Comp-Int. 29-9-2 25-14-0
Passing Yards 122 211
Total Plays-Yards 66-226 52-289
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 3-2
Punts-Avg. 4-18 4-35.3
Penalties 5-55 14-95
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Lumberton: Henry 20-55; Edwards 6-17; Tribett 10-29 TD; Fairley 1-3.
Resurrection: Johnson 22-66 TD; Spivey 3-11; Thompson 1-1; Porter 1-0.
Passing
Lumberton: Tribett 9-for-29, 122 yds. 2 INTs.
Resurrection: Porter 14-for-25, 211 yds. 2 TDs.
Receiving
Lumberton: Buckner 6-79; Thomas 2-43; Henry 1-0.
Resurrection: Himman 5-110; Lee 3-61 2 TDs; Thompson 3-14; Johnson 1-9; Roth 1-9; Douglas 1-8.
