PORTAL — Heys McMath spoiled Portal’s homecoming game.            The Savannah Country Day quarterback passed for 205 yards and rushed for another 152, accounting for three touchdowns and leading the Hornets to a 40-22 win Friday at the Portal Athletic Complex.
    Portal (0-8, 0-4 Region 3A-A) saw McMath score on the first play of the second half on a 61-yard touchdown run to put the Hornets (2-6, 1-4) ahead 30-8, but answered with its next drive.
    Panthers quarterback Evan Street marched the team down the field with s 23-yard option keeper and a 36-yard pass to Casey Jones.
    Later, Street left the game for only three plays with an injured arm before returning.
    “Evan’s a tough kid,”  Portal coach David NeSmith said. “He wants to play every down. He hurt his elbow out here and I didn’t think he could throw, but he didn’t like it when I took him out. He’s just a high-character kid that we want others to follow. He’s a work in progress, but I’m glad he’s on our team.”
    Larry Huff finished off the drive with a one-yard scoring run, and a pass from Street to Corey Reese was good for a two-point conversion and a two-possession, 30-16 score.
    Harley Lichtenberg kicked a 36-yard field goal on the next Country Day drive to extend the Hornets’ lead to 33-16.
    The Panthers didn’t go down easily. The first drive of the fourth quarter saw more combined penalties (11, including two offsetting) than plays (nine) but finally ended when Jones scored from 11 yards out from the wildcat formation.
    After penalties 12 and 13 on the two-point conversion attempt, the drive finally came to an end with Portal trailing 33-22.
    McMath scored the lone touchdown of the fourth quarter on a 19-yard run. When the game finally ended, the teams combined for 34 penalties for 312 yards.
    “In my 18 years of coaching, that is the most flags I’ve ever seen,” NeSmith said. “I looked at my watch at one point, and it was a three-hour game.”
    Portal’s first drive of the game stayed entirely on the ground. On the strength of a 59-yard run by Huff that got the Panthers to the 10-yard line. Jones took it the rest of the way, punching it in from three yards out to cut the SCDS lead to 7-6.
    The Panthers attempted to tie the game with an extra point, but the snap went high, forcing Street, the holder, to scramble left then roll right to see Marquis Wells calling for the ball in the end zone. Street connected with Wells, who made a diving catch to secure an 8-7 advantage.
    The lead didn’t last long, as Lichtenberg kicked a 33-yard field goal that gave the Hornets the lead for good.
    Leading 10-8, Ollie Ceaser (16-96) scored from three yards out early in the second quarter. Quarterback McMath, on the final drive of the second quarter, completed passes of 16, 14 and 31 yards to Ben Johnson, and later punched it in on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line to put the Hornets ahead 22-8 at the break.
    Country Day opened the scoring in the game when McMath ran it in from 17 yards out, one play after a would-be interception escaped the hands of Portal’s Cory Reese.
    Portal plays the final game on its schedule on the road at Calvary Day Friday at 7:30 p.m.

    Matt Yogus may be reached at (912) 489-9408.