Straughn recorded the 38th and final point in the game, and scored an at-home win of 45-14 over Southside Selma at home in the opening stage of the AHSAA 3A state football playoffs on Friday night.
The Head Coach Ashley Kilcrease felt his team was able to take possessions during the first half of the game.
“That was huge to be able to win our game in the playoffs tonight. We’ve got a pretty strong football team. Southside has been scoring lots of points on players. We stopped them after the initial two games. Brenden and his onside kicks were amazing and he did it flawlessly. I was extremely happy for our kickoff team, having had been working on it for the entire week. Layne enjoyed a wonderful night running as did our defensive and offensive teams did an excellent job this evening. We’re not finished yet and will continue to fight,” Kilcrease said.
The Tigers increased their record to 10-1 over the season, and they also secured their first playoff victory since 2015. The Panthers ended the season at 7-4.
Straughn started the game on the 44 yard line. Layne Grantham had a 13-yard run for a touchdown. Grant Barnes followed with a 28-yard run to the Southside 15. Three plays later, on Third-and-7 Grantham took to the air, and caught Saxby Radford to score a touchdown of 12 yards. Bartholomew added the kickoff for an 8-0 lead at 10:09 remaining in the first quarter.
Eli Guilford recovered an ensuing attempt to kick off onside however, the Tigers were forced to punt. Beginning at the 23-yard line, Derick Smith had a 34-yard pass to Erick Smith from the 43 yard line at home. Marquarius Reese was then rewarded with two first-down plays. Following Connor Palmer made a forced fourth-and-6 by a block, Reese threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to D. Smith. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful but the Panthers were able to reduce short the gap to 7-6 by 5:11.
Grantham began the second drive with a 28-yard rumble for a first-down before an fumble. Reese made the move happen by throwing a 27-yard ball as Charlie Jordan made a crucial tackle. Reese reached the end zone with a 25-yard throw and gave Southside its first lead of 14-7, after a successful two-point attempt at 1:33 mark. Straughn could not move the ball, and he punted on the last game of the initial.
Brenden Bartholomew continues to make his field-goal of 32 yards. He was with a six-for-six PAT and successfully converted several side kicks. (PHOTO by ZACK MAIO)
Mack McIntyre recovered a fumble during the following defensive play at the 26-yard line of the opponent. The Tigers made it even in just two plays, when Grantham scored an interception of 20 yards. Bartholomew’s penalty point put the score was 14-14 with just 10:17 left until halftime. The Panthers were awestruck by the moment Parker Black recovered another onside kick. Grantham increased his lead up to 21-14 after a touchdown run of 47 yards, and Bartholomew kicked a PAT with 9:46 remaining at the end of the first.
Dylon Smith as well as Clark Gay delivered big tackles on defense, and forced Southside into a three-and-1 on the next play. Straughn began at midfield and got an 8-yard run from Grantham before Barnes ran 9 yards to score a first-down. Barnes finished the five-play drive with a 26-yard touchdown and Bartholomew took the uprights apart for an advantage of 28-14 with just 4:09 left before the break.
Cade Pittman took another onside kick towards the opponent 36. The Panthers tried to stop the ball on fourth-and-4 but didn’t get it, as an offsides penalty led to a first-down. Black was able to find an opening and ran 14 yards to Red Zone. After two passes that were not completed and a holding penalty, Bartholomew hit a 32-yard field goal while the Tigers had a 31-14 advantage at the break.
Barnes was a major draw for the crowd at home with a fumble recover during the first play of the second quarter. Straughn played the dice on fourth-and-3 and watched the payoff by allowing a first-down run from Barnes. Three minutes further, Grantham followed his offensive line’s effective blocking to score the touchdown with a 42-yard run. Bartholomew continued to be flawless when it came to extra points and extended the lead to 38-14 at 7:15 during the 3rd. Reese was able to run 19 yards to score the 38-yard goal on the next drive. M.J. Dauphin delivered a impressive tackle. After Palmer made a sack, Southside turned the ball over in the downs after Cameron Adams broke up a pass.
The Tigers had two first downs during their subsequent drive, but a mishap stopped the offense. Reese made 54 yards of running to the 7-yard line prior to the game ended. Ryan Cobb and Dauphin then made a tackle, which allowed the defense to keep the Panthers away from the zone of final. Straughn began its next drive with a stifling 6 yard line but Adams allowed some breathing space with the first down, gaining 18 yards. A couple of plays later Grantham got another solid block from his offensive linemen. He then struck the ground at 60 yards. Bartholomew scored his sixth PAT to give the team an advantage of 45-14 at 5:44. Dauphin made a massive tackle and sack on the third down when Southside punted.
After the Tigers lost the ball in the downs, the Panthers transferred the ball to an opposing territory, but before Pittman made an interception.
Straughn will take on Thomasville (9-1) for the second round of the match on Nov. 17. 17.
“Thomasville is an excellent football team, however we are sure of our team and are excited about having the chance to play the home of our team next week,”” Kilcrease said.
The article Tigers take advantage of their first-round home victory against Southside Selma, 45-14 was first published in The Andalusia Star-News.
