The French Camp offense did not have its best night against Noxapater, but the FCA defense and special teams took up their slack.
The Panthers caused six turnovers and had two special teams touchdowns as they jumped out to an early lead and took a 27-14 win over Noxapater on Friday night.
French Camp improves to 4-5 on the season and 4-1 in Region 3-1A play. The Panthers will host Sebastopol on Friday night. The winner of that contest is likely the No. 2 seed out of Region 3-1A.
“The offense kind of had an off night and made a lot of mistakes,” FCA Coach Nathan Wright said. “We didn’t throw the ball well and it was just off the mark. We just shot ourselves in the foot all night long. All in all, I thought we played pretty good on defense. We put our backups in the game in the fourth and that’s when they scored. I was really pleased with our effort overall.”
French Camp got the ball to start the game and Avery Summers returned the opening kick 89 yards for a touchdown. The PAT failed and French Camp led 6-0.
The French Camp defense forced Noxapater to punt on their first possession and the special teams stepped up again. This time Macon Bentley returned the punt 62 yards for a touchdown. Gavin Fox kicked the PAT and French Camp led 13-0 early in the first quarter.
“We have got some guys that can run, so you always have a chance win the kicking game when you have speed,” Wright said. “I would have thought that would have been the least likely things that would happen. But we got a few good blocks and that sprung Avery. And he is fast enough that he outran everybody. And then they punted it to Macon and he went 62 yards.”
On their next possession, the Panthers got a 36-yard touchdown pass from Cody Perry to Bentley. Fox’s PAT was good and French Camp led 20-0 in the first quarter.
“I thought that pretty much put the game out of play. I probably started to sub a little too quickly, but I wanted to look at some of the younger guys in some spots with the starters,” Wright said. “But I’m pleased with how we are developing. I feel like we are getting a lot of the little things right. It’s just crazy with injuries and trying to keep everyone healthy. That’s a big deal for us right now. We would love to win out and go in as the two seed and have a home playoff game.”
The score stayed at 20-0 through the remainder of the first half.
French Camp added its last score in the third quarter when Silas Hodge scored on a 13-yard run. Fox hit the PAT and French Camp led 27-0.
Noxapater scored both of its touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The first was a 9-yard run by Emmanuel Carter with 8:14 left in the game to cut the score to 27-6.
Noxapater’s last score came late in the fourth when Rashad Hornsburger hit K.D. Carter on a 50-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left in the game. Carter ran in the two-point conversion for the final of 27-14.
The Panthers had just 202 yards of total offense with 66 passing and 136 rushing while the FCA special teams had 162 yards on returns. Perry was just 6-of-18 passing for 66 yards with one TD and one interception. Hodge led the rushing attack with 119 yards on 20 carries. Bentley had two catches for 59 yards.
On defense, Landon Rushing returned to lead the Panthers with nine tackles while Bentley had eight stops. Cody Perry and Ethan Wright had seven tackles while Wesley Vowell had six tackles. Bradley McCrory had five tackles while Hodge had three stops. Avery Summer had two interceptions and two tackles as well. Wright, Vowell, Hodge and James Johnson each had fumble recoveries as well.
This week’s game
The Panthers will host Sebastopol on Friday night in a battle for playoff position.
Sebastopol is 5-4 on the season and 3-2 in Region 3-1A play with losses to West Lowndes (28-22) and Ethel (36-30). They have wins over McAdams (37-8), Pisgah (36-19), Vardaman (23-6), Noxapater (forfeit) and Leake County (56-0).
“I’m kind of surprised with some of their losses, like the Ethel game. They do things right and block right and guys who run well. I think it will be a knock-down, drag-out fight,” Wright said “I think he has a good group and feels like I do. There are some games he could have won and should probably be the No. 1 seed. I think they are a little better than us up front, but we will see what happens.”
