"The whole time I was thinking and praying that God's got this if it's His will. He gave me the abilities and I just have to perform. So, I just kicked it," said sophomore kicker Nate Jones.
Jones performed to his God-given abilities tonight. The sophomore booted a 35-yard game-winner as time expired to give Petal a 27-24 victory over the Brandon Bulldogs.
"Nate, after he made one against Pearl it gave him a lot of confidence. Nothing shakes him. You could see that with him making two huge field goals for us tonight," said Petal head coach Marcus Boyles.
Along with Jones, the Petal defense held the Bulldogs when they needed to the most with under three minutes to play, giving the ball back to their senior signal-caller DeCarlos Nicholson. Nicholson willed his way down the field with first-down runs using his legs to set up the game-winning kick and keeping Petal unblemished in region play.
"Mitch Williams did our devotional today and he talked about finishing. Everything was about finishing, never quitting, and fighting until the end. It proved true tonight because we had to play a complete 48 minutes. I'm so proud of our guys," exclaimed Boyles.
Petal scored 14 of the game's points in the first quarter. Running back Micah McGowan found the endzone from a yard away midway through the first quarter to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead. With under two minutes to play, Nicholson rushed for seven yards on a quarterback keeper giving Petal a 14-0 lead.
Brandon got on the board after they jumped in front of a Nicholson interception, putting them in Panther territory. Ozarrio Smith rushed for a seven-yard touchdown to tighten the game to 14-7.
Things got quiet until two minutes to go as McGowan again reached the endzone on a three-yard run. However, Brandon responded quickly with a nine-yard passing touchdown to keep it a one-score game, 21-14 as both teams went to the locker rooms.
Both defenses took over in the third, but the fourth quarter started hot as Brandon tied the game on a 58-yard strike from Will Rogers to Joshua Montague to tie things up. Both teams traded field goals in the fourth until Petal's game-winner.
Nate Jones attempts the game-winning kick as time expires.Â
Coach Boyles talked about how his defense and senior quarterback handled things in the fourth quarter.
"The defense gave us a chance holding them out of the endzone to keep us within a field goal. We had so many guys on the last drive step up and make plays for us. Nicholson scrambled and made big plays, I'm so proud of him. He plays well in big ball games and did again tonight."
Boyles also talked about his offensive line and how they have performed better each week, including tonight where they made room for all three Panthers touchdowns.
"The offensive line did well. They've been doing well. The defensive front for Brandon is good. I thought we had some good blocking and big plays. Of course, Brandon had big plays too. I thought our kids battled up front on the offensive line."
Player of the Game
Nate Jones' two field goals - one from 34-yards and the other from 35-yards out - sealed the win for Petal over Brandon.
Momentum Change
Petal's defense was able to hold when they needed to the most, forcing Brandon to kick a 21-yard field goal. Combine that with Nicholson's multiple scrambles on the final drive, and it took the momentum away from Brandon and ultimately the win.
Quote of the Night
"We have to continue to work. We can't rest on what we did tonight. Monday morning, when everyone else is out of school, we are going to be out here at practice getting ready for Northwest Rankin." - Marcus Boyles
Notes
Petal moves to 6-1, (3-0) while Brandon falls to 5-3, (2-1). Petal travels to Northwest Rankin next week while Brandon hosts Meridian.Â
