PORTAL — Earlier this year, the Georgia High School Association voted to expand the Class A public school playoffs from 16 to 24 teams.
That offers the Portal Panthers an even greater chance of making the postseason for the first time since 2006, but there is still a very tough road to navigate.
Portal will have plenty of reason for celebration tonight. Not only will the Panthers open up the 2016 season at home in front of what promises to be a large crowd, but even more excitement will be in the air as the Panthers enjoy a brand new fieldhouse and recognize state championships won in track and field and girls golf back in the spring.
But after all of those are celebrated, a tough Treutlen Vikings squad awaits.
For years, the Vikings wandered about in the depths of Region 3-A. The last couple of seasons have seen a resurgence - including back-to-back decisive victories over Portal - and Treutlen enters tonight’s matchup with a win over Georgia Military College already under its belt this season.
“We expect a tough game,” Portal coach Matt Smith said. “Treutlen is a good team, but I feel like we’re ready to compete. We’ve spent this week getting ready for them, but the main thing has been looking back at what we’ve done in the preseason and just cleaning up our own stuff and preparing to play our best game.”
For a Portal squad that has spent several years constantly adjusting to a small roster in order to reinvent itself, tonight serves as a hopeful sign that a new era is dawning.
Like most high schools, graduation is always an issue. Take into account that Portal doesn’t even have 150 male students in its ranks and it’s easy to see how that problem usually hits the Panthers even harder than most.
This season hopes to be an exception as the Panthers return five senior starters to the offensive line, bring back plenty of defensive talent, and will also enjoy the services of veteran quarterback Jake Brown.
Aside from carryover experience, the Panthers will also hope to learn from preseason lessons. Portal did not hold a spring camp, opting instead to be allowed to play a pair of fall scrimmages. The Panthers hope that the live action challenges will pay dividends as the preseason rolls into the three-month grind of the regular season schedule.
“We seem prepared,” Smith said. “There are 42 kids on the roster, and while we aren’t quite to platooning yet, we’re ready to play four quarters. We looked back at last year and saw that we led or were tied in six of our 10 games. If we can improve in the second half of games, we’re going to have some more success.”
Much of the Vikings’ recent success was due to a gifted class of athletes that graduated this past spring. Still, senior quarterback Tyler Benjamin and senior running back Ben Blackshear pose a huge threat to any opponent.
“They’ll do a lot out of the old single wing,” Smith said. “They run the ball very well, but they’re also a threat to throw it. Their style involves a lot of misdirection, so it will be important for us to keep to our defensive assignments and locate the ball.”
With 13 teams now crowding Region 3-A, Portal will spend its entire regular season battling region foes. Class A’s ratings-based system for determining playoff teams has taken precedent over the normal challenge of finishing in the top four in any given region. This allows the Panthers extra opportunities to make it back to the postseason, but with talented teams like Treutlen dotting the regular season path, nothing will come easy.
“It would be great to get off to a good start,” Smith said. “We’re going to have a good crowd and - to go by the old cliche - I know the kids will be ready to hit someone in a different color uniform. Treutlen is a very good team, so it will be a big challenge for us right out of the gate.”
Panthers host Vikings in opener

