It wasn’t easy, but Friday night the Portal Panthers got an overtime touchdown run by Zeke Purcell and hung on to beat Savannah High 21-14 in to notch their first region win of the season and move to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in region play.

“We had a lot of mistakes but we found a way to overcome and battle back from them,” said Portal coach Jason McEachin. “We were down much of the game and the kids never wavered. The effort and heart of our kids will never be in question. We just have to try and not beat ourselves and we will be okay.”

Trailing 14-0 after the first quarter of play, the Panther rallied for a touchdown in the second and third quarters to tie the game at 14-14. With seconds remaining, Hayden Scott’s 41-yard field goal attempt ended up just short and the game went to overtime. In overtime, the Panthers scored on their first play. Zeke Purcell was hit in the backfield, spun around a defender and scored from 15 yards out. The defense held the Blue Jackets out of the end zone on their try and the celebration ensued.

Savannah High took their opening drive and marched downfield as Frank Frazier scored from a yard away for a 6-0 lead. Portal quarterback Gideon Fulcher fumbled on the Panthers following series, giving the Blue Jackets the ball at the Portal 47-yard line. Frazier capped that drive with another short touchdown run. The two-point conversion was good and Portal trialed, 14-0.

The Panthers came back late in the first, keyed by a 12-yard run by Jason Crawford deep into Savannah High territory. Early in the second, Fulcher hit Brian McQueen across the middle for a 10-yard score. The extra point cut the lead in half to 14-7, which would carry into halftime.

In the second half the defense pinned Savannah High deep and were able to get the offense the ball on the Blue Jacket end of the field. The offense responded as Fulcher fought his way into the end zone from a yard away, tying the game at 14-14.

Both teams drove down inside the opponents 10-yard line in the fourth quarter. Portal held Savannah High on fourth down twice. With time winding down, the Panthers got down to the Savannah High 10-yard line on a Purcell run. A couple of penalties backed them up and Scott’s field goal from 41-yards missed short and right.

“We played much better on the defensive side of the field tonight,” McEachin said. “They had one solid drive in which they drove down and scored. The other was after our turnover and they had a short field and scored. After that we did a great job of rallying to the ball and much better overall. These kids needed this tonight. I think we had some guys who had lost some confidence and we needed this to springboard us into the back half of our season.”

Up next Portal will have a bye week followed by a trip to ECI Oct. 10.