Last year the Bulloch Academy Gators came back to score late in their preseason scrimmage against Portal and won 21-20. Friday night it looked like that may be the score once again as the Gators took a 21-20 lead with less than three minutes to play.
This time around, however, the Panthers were able to answer as quarterback Elijah Coleman scrambled around and found Amir Jackson at the 10-yard line with a 30-yard pass. Jackson was able to break away from a tackle and score as Portal hung on to win 27-21.
It may have been just a scrimmage but when two teams from Bulloch County meet on the playing field it not only draws a crowd, but the players involved typically know one another and want to beat each other. Throw in the fact that this game was moved to Paulson Stadium, and it felt like a little more than a typical preseason scrimmage.
The Gators came out looking good as they scored on their first two possessions. Bulloch Academy moved downfield on their opening drive working primarily with their option attack, and scored on a tough seven-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Smart. The Gator defense held and the offense drove down and scored again this time on a 20-yard touchdown run from Effingham County transfer Danya Garvin for a 14-0 lead.
“I felt we came out sharp,” said Bulloch Academy coach Aaron Phillips. “We did whatever we wanted on both sides of the ball and looked like the team I feel we can be. From about the second quarter on we really did a poor job of letting their two best players beat us, and got a little sloppy on offense.”
The two players Phillips was referring to are quarterback Elijah Coleman, and receiver Amir Jackson who accounted for all four of the Panther touchdowns Friday.
“Those two guys are very special,” Portal coach Jason McEachin said. “They can’t do it without a little help, but there is a reason they are being recruited and at any time they can make a play that can go for a touchdown. We are fortunate to have them and they made some huge plays tonight.”
Portal comes back
Coleman completed a couple passes to Reshaun Jones and Jackson to get Portal down deep but the drive ended in an interception by Luke Willoughby just short of the end zone. Portal was able to get on the board a little later as Coleman scrambled and took off for a 55-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 14-6 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Reshaun Jones took off on a 37-yard run inside the Gator 20-yard line. Coleman then found Jackson who fought off four Gator defenders to get inside the 10-yard line. Coleman capped the drive with a one-yard sneak to cut the lead to 14-13 at the half.
The Panthers came back behind the athleticism of Coleman early in the third. From his own 19-yard line Coleman took off around the near sidelines. With nowhere to go, he then reversed field, eluded a couple of Gator defenders and sprinted 81 yards for a touchdown to give Portal a 20-13 lead. That scored held up into the fourth quarter.
Both teams turned the ball over in the fourth after nice drives. The Gators were able to regain their lead late in the fourth as Brennan Perossa hit Luke Willoughby for a 38-yard touchdown. Hunter Davis Pressley connected on his third extra point to give the Gators a 21-20 lead with less than 2:30 to play.
On their winning drive Portal was facing fourth and 12 with just over a minute to play from their own 39-yard line. Coleman scrambled and was looking for Jackson, the pass was high and Jackson was hit and the referees called pass interference giving Portal a first down.
On their next series Portal was again facing fourth and long and Coleman scrambled around and chucked a ball deep to Jackson who hauled it in and broke a tackle, scoring what proved to be the game winner.
“This is the kind of game we have struggled with in the past,” McEachin said. “I loved the way we didn’t quit and fought all the way to the end. I think a win like this can give the guys the kind of confidence we need this year.”
While one team was able to make some progress after a season in which things went poorly late, the other unfortunately saw an ugly trend continue.
“This happened to us too many times last year,” Phillips said about his Gators. “I think this is the ninth game in a row in which we were leading in the fourth quarter and we saw it slip away again. We did plenty of good things tonight, but we have to get together as a staff and find a way to win or hold on late in games.”
Bulloch Academy opens the season at Tiftarea Aug. 18 while Portal hosts Hawkinsville Aug. 18.
