TERRY – When former Petal Panther and current Tulane Green Wave running back Stephon Huderson tweeted at the PineBeltSPORTS Twitter account Wednesday, “They’ll be fine. Petal knows how to finish,” he wasn’t lying.
Petal traveled to Terry Thursday needing a win to clinch its 10th straight playoff appearance, and it went back home with a 38-14 win over the Bulldogs. Now Petal waits to see who wins the Brandon-Pearl matchup Friday night to determine if it’ll be the No. 2 seed or No. 3.
“It feels wonderful, I’ll be honest,” Petal coach Marcus Boyles said. “I was really proud of our team. We had a great week of practice with our backs against the wall, and I thought we really came out here and played well, especially on defense. I thought our defense really set the tone.”
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Momentum changer
The Panthers defense stifled Terry for most of the first half, and the Bulldogs’ only score came on a trick play from the 22-yard line with a minute left before halftime. That tied the game up 7-7, but once Petal got the ball back, it raced down the field to regain the lead.
Senior quarterback Jordan Wilson completed a pass to Nataurean “Phat” Watts for 22 yards, then Wilson found Natorian “Deuce” Watts down the right sideline for a 44-yard gain. Deuce Watts created separation from the Terry defender, high-pointed the ball and dragged two feet inbounds for the reception.
Two plays later, Phat Watts punched it in from the 2-yard line to give Petal a 14-7 lead, but that wasn’t the momentum changer.
On the ensuing kickoff, Petal used a pouch kick to produce chaos for the Terry kickoff return team, and the ball bounced around until Petal’s Rashad Handford recovered with 18 seconds on the clock.
Senior Blake Craig ended the half with a 42-yard field goal – a career long – to give the Panthers a 17-7 advantage at the break.
“That kid, people don’t know the hard work he’s put into it,” Boyles said. “We don’t have a kicking coach. He does all of that on his own. (Punter) Seth (Williamson) is the same way. They’re such weapons for us on special teams.”
Petal’s first touchdown came at the end of the first quarter after a 14-play, 88-yard drive when Wilson hit Deuce Watts for a 27-yard score. That put the Panthers up 7-0.
“I told Jordan before we ran it that I was going to be open over the middle,” Deuce Watts said. “It was open, they didn’t guard me and he threw it up. I bobbled it a little bit, but I got possession and tucked it.”
Putting it away
Petal received the ball at the start of the third quarter, and it was Terry that decided that. Terry won the coin toss before the game and opted to get the ball to start the game, which meant the Panthers would get the ball to start the season half.
After the quick 10 points at the end of the first quarter, Petal moved the ball 64 yards on eight plays to extend the lead to 24-7. The play, however, was less than ordinary.
Wilson completed a pass over the middle to Phat Watts, but when he did a spin move, he fumbled the ball near the Terry 10-yard line and a Terry defender quickly picked it up. Deuce Watts didn’t give up on the play, though, and he stripped the ball and senior Marquise Bridges jumped on the ball for the touchdown.
“I tried to cut back and the dude stripped me,” Phat Watts said. “My brother came and ripped and Marquise jumped on it. I guess that’s how the dice rolls.”
Phat Watts added rushing scores of 1 and 15 yards on the next two Petal drives to push the lead to 38-7 before Terry added a late score to bring the game to its final, 38-14.
Next week
Petal will wait and see which team it’ll play next week, or if it’ll play at home or on the road.
Petal 38,
Terry 14
Score by Quarter
Petal 7 10 21 0—38
Terry 0 7 0 7—14
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
P —D. Watts 27 pass from Wilson, (kick good), 1:48.
Second Quarter
T —R. McDaniel 22 run, (kick good), 1:07.
P —P. Watts 2 run, (kick good), 0:21.
P —Craig 42 field goal, 0:00.
Third Quarter
P —Bridges 0 fumble recovery, (kick good), 8:39.
P —P. Watts 1 run, (kick good), 5:38.
P —P. Watts 15 run, (kick good), 0:54.
Fourth Quarter
T —R. McDaniel 33 pass from Pegues, (kick good), 0:48.
TEAM STATISTICS
P T
First Downs 21 13
Rushes-Yards 36-200 30-120
Att-Comp-Int. 24-13-1 20-9-0
Passing Yards 196 115
Total Plays-Yards 60-396 50-235
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-2
Punts-Avg. 2-32.5 6-29
Penalties 8-55 5-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Petal: P. Watts 22-106 3 TDs; Silas 4-67; McGowan 8-37; Wilson 2-(-10).
Terry: T. McDaniel 8-56; Hilliard 13-41; R. McDaniel 1-22; Frank 2-9; Pegues 3-6; Dixon 3-(-14).
Passing
Petal: Wilson 13-for-23, 196 yds., TD, INT.
Terry: Pegues 9-for-20, 115 yds., TD.
Receiving
Petal: D. Watts 4-93 TD; P. Watts 5-75; Bridges 4-28.
Terry: R. McDaniel 1-33, TD; Hill 3-26; T. McDaniel 2-21; Perkins 2-20; Marshall 1-15.
