Panthers run into wall at Dallas Co.

Published 1:33 am Saturday, September 5, 2015

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Adrian Jackson scored Jemison's only touchdown in a loss at Dallas County on Friday.

Adrian Jackson scored Jemison’s only touchdown in a loss at Dallas County on Friday. (Photo by Justin Fedich)

By Justin Fedich | The Selma Times-Journal

Jemison had plenty of opportunities to score in the first half on Friday but were shut out each time by Dallas County.

The Panthers (0-3, 1-0 region) fell at Dallas County to the Hornets (1-1, 1-0) 34-6 in the first game of Class 5A Region 4 play.

Aside from a touchdown in the last minute of the game, Jemison was unable to put together a complete offensive drive.

“We kind of put ourselves in a bind, and we couldn’t ever climb back,” Jemison head coach Van Clements said.

As dominant as Dallas County was, the first quarter ended in a 0-0 deadlock. Both teams’ offenses failed to get anything going as each team’s quarterbacks tossed an interception.

The Panthers’ Zachary Deason and the Hornets’ Quincy Parker each had an interception for their team in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Dallas County’s offense and defense stepped up. As Dallas County continued to stop Jemison on fourth down, the Hornets were able to find holes in the Panthers’ defense.

Dallas County sophomore Calvin Starks broke through when he ran for 49 yards to start off a drive from the Hornets’ 11-yard line. Two plays later, he was in the end zone on a 35-yard rush with 3:33 left in the first half.

The Hornets were about to go to halftime with a 7-0 lead when Hornets quarterback Lane Wallace ducked a potential sack with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter and ran for 30 yards down to the 5-yard-line.

One play later, Wallace hit Delando Atchison for a 5-yard touchdown pass, and Dallas County took a 14-0 lead into halftime.

Dallas County kept the momentum rolling into the second half.

Jemison managed to use its hurry-up offense on its final drive of the game to score with under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. The Panthers’ Adrian Jackson punched the ball in from the 1-yard line with 35 seconds remaining to avoid the shutout.