PORTAL — The wait for a region championship is over for the Portal Panthers.
Portal's defense stopped Jenkins County's Rob-travious Coney on a two-point conversion attempt in overtime to come away with a 36-34 win and earn the Panthers their first football region championship in the school's history in front of a standing room only crowd of approximately 2,000 at the Portal Athletic Complex on Friday night.
"It's really indescribable. The tears of joy from the players and the hugs," said Portal head coach Jason McEachin following the victory. "I thought we had a shot to get here when the season started, but to actually see it come full circle and the way it ended in overtime with how hard our kids fought, I just cannot be more proud to be a Portal Panther than I am right now."
Portal now returns to the state playoffs for the first time since 2006 and will do so as a top seed. This week, the Panthers will take on fourth-seeded Turner County (3-7, 1-3 Region 2-AII), which claimed its postseason berth with a victory over Atkinson County Friday night.
The Panthers will be looking for their second state playoff win in program history and first since 2004.
On Friday night, Portal (7-3, 4-0 Region 3-AII) took possession first in overtime. After a pass from quarterback Elijah Coleman to wide receiver Amir Jackson moved the ball to the 5, Coleman took a loss when the War Eagles' defense did not bite on play-action.
On second-and-goal from the 11, Coleman took the snap and rolled to his left. He spotted Samari McBride wide open near the right sideline in the end zone for the touchdown.
"We had a scheme called to the left and one of our receivers leaked back to the right," McEachin said. "It was all covered and Elijah's vision found him over in the corner and lobbed it to him. It wasn't designed that way but we have kids that make plays."
Jackson was able to make a catch in traffic for the 2-point conversion to put Portal ahead 36-28.
"I wanted to try to be aggressive and try to win the game," McEachin said of the decision to go for two.
The War Eagles (9-1, 3-1) who have not won a region championship since 1960, answered on their possession in overtime with Zz Wilson scoring his second touchdown of the night on a three-yard run. That set up their 2-point attempt that would see Portal stop Coney and claim the region title.
Twice Portal went ahead by two touchdowns, leading 14-0 in the first half and 28-14 in the second half. Both instances saw Jenkins County rally back to tie the score.
"When we got ahead two scores in the second half, I thought we had a chance to separate and close it out," McEachin said. "But as good of a team as they are and the kind of heart and character they have, they never backed down and they found a way to tie the game back up."
Leading 22-14 at halftime, Portal was able to stop the War Eagles on the opening possession of the second half and take over at their own 43. A steady mix of run and pass plays saw the Panthers drive down to the War Eagles' 10-yard line. A sack on 1st-and-goal left the Panthers facing 2nd-and-goal from the 19.
Coleman dropped back to pass and found Jackson double covered in the end zone, but threw it to him anyway. Jackson somehow snatched the ball from the Jenkins County defender for the score to put Portal ahead 28-14 with 5:58 remaining in the third quarter.
Jenkins County once again used its powerful rushing attack to get off the mat, driving 56 yards on 10 plays to cut the lead to 28-21.
After Portal was forced to punt, JCHS took over at its own 44 and again marched down the field, converting on three third downs before Coney scored from a yard out. The extra point tied it at 28-28 with 3:55 remaining.
Portal looked as though it may win in regulation as they were able to drive down to the Jenkins County 19-yard line. However, a holding penalty and a fumble by Coleman erased any chance of a score, setting up the dramatic overtime.
McEachin had nothing but praise for Jackson, who has committed to Florida to play next season.
"He showed why he's an SEC football player," he said of Jackson, who finished the night with nine catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. "But his character is way higher and will take him way further than his athletic skills."