Panthers fall to Allatoona in second round of state playoffs
Nov. 20, 2015 – Allatoona defenders swarm a Starr’s Mill running back. Despite having more offensive yards than the Buccaneers, the Panthers ended their season with a 30-14 loss in the second round of the state playoffs.
November 24, 2015
The Panthers had every reason to believe they could win their second round matchup against the sixth ranked Allatoona Buccaneers. They had won their last two games by at least 38 points and gained more than 500 yards of total offense in each of those games. Regardless, the Panthers fell to the Bucs 30-14 to end their season with a 10-2 record.
“We had chances to win that game,” head coach Chad Phillips said. “We felt like we should’ve been ahead at halftime, didn’t make some plays, and they are a very good football team.”
In a defensive game, the Panthers put up 287 yards of total offense, 10 more yards than Allatoona. Senior running back Dion Munerlyn led the rushing attack with nine carries for 67 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore running back Rico Frye wasn’t far behind, finishing with 66 yards on 17 carries. It was only the second time all season the Panthers didn’t have a rusher go for over 100 yards.
“They have a bunch of athletes on defense, with big lineman and linebackers,” Frye said. “They just played well against us.”
The game started out with a slow pace, with both teams finding themselves punting on their first possession. The Panthers got the ball moving on their next drive, as sophomore quarterback Joey DeLuca hit senior wide receiver and cornerback Satchel Goodrich for 31 yards to the Buccaneer 42-yard line. Three plays later, the Panthers converted on fourth-and-1 when Frye ran 1-yard to pick up the first down. Senior kicker Whitaker Chu missed a 49-yard field goal to keep the game scoreless and end the drive shortly after.
The Panther defense forced a Buccaneer punt the next possession and the offense picked up where they left off. Munerlyn scored his lone touchdown of the night on a three-yard run to cap off the six play, 48-yard drive to make it 7-0 Panthers with 8:52 left in the second quarter.
Allatoona finally got the ball moving on their next drive, as senior quarterback Brandon Rainey found senior wide receiver Derrand Garrett for 23 yards to the Panther 22. Rainey followed that with a 6-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Turner Cockrell a few plays later to tie the game at seven with 3:05 remaining in the half. The Panthers drained the time remaining in the half, and took a 7-7 tie to the locker room.
Allatoona looked to take the lead to begin the third quarter when senior running back Jalen Parrish broke a 15-yard run on the second play of the half. The next play pushed the Buccaneers back after a personal foul penalty, but gained almost every yard back when junior running back Charles Anderson ran for 12 yards to the Panther 35. Two plays later, Rainey avoided a sack from senior linebacker Melvin Broomfield, and ran 31 yards for a Buccaneer touchdown to give Allatoona a 14-7 lead with 9:32 left in the third quarter.
“Our defensive coaches made a great call, we had guys in position to make a play,” Phillips said. “We did everything right except bring him to the ground. He made some guys miss, and the next thing you know he’s in the endzone. That was the single defining play of the game.”
After the Panthers got the ball down to the Allatoona 39-yard line on their next drive, DeLuca threw his first interception of the game. The Bucs took advantage, as Parrish ran for 38 yards down to the Starr’s Mill 10, then scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 21-7 with 3:19 to go in the third quarter for the third Buccaneer touchdown in as many possessions.
The Panthers offense was forced to punt after getting the ball back, but showed sign of life. The defense forced a Buccaneer three-and-out and a 33-yard punt gave Starr’s Mill the ball back on their own 48-yard line. Munerlyn took the game into his hands and ran for 50 yards on four carries on the drive before DeLuca found Goodrich for a six-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to seven with 7:58 left in the game.
Allatoona took the next 5:45 off the clock, converting four first downs in the process. Buccaneer kicker Skylar Davis made a 30-yard field goal to increase the lead to 10 with 2:13 left in the game.
“We had a lot of time left after the touchdown we scored,” Phillips said. “We had the momentum, but we couldn’t get them off the field.”
The Panthers, with no timeouts, still had time to make the improbable comeback. However, DeLuca threw his second interception of the game which was picked off by junior defensive back Tate Tatum, who returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was no good, giving Allatoona a 30-14 lead. The Panthers tried to make a miracle rally, including a trick play where sophomore defensive back and running back Cole Gilley found Goodrich for a 48-yard gain, but time expired before they could score any more points.
“Allatoona hadn’t been hit like we hit them in that game all year long,” Phillips said. “It was the few plays that we couldn’t take advantage of that hurt us.”
Despite the loss, Panthers had a season to remember despite the loss. It was the farthest the team has gone in the state playoffs since the 2010 season, when the Panthers finished as state runner-ups. Records were broken, including the team’s single-season rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, and the first 10-win season since finishing as state-runner up.
However, the team will lose much of the defense that held opposing teams to 12.4 points per game and 216.3 yards per game next season, and also some key parts of the offensive line that allowed the offense to run for 323.7 yards per game.
“The senior class definitely put this program back on the map,” Phillips said. “We demanded a lot more from them than we had with any other class, and they responded.”
Allatoona defeated Houston County in the quarterfinals 59-42, and will face an all too familiar opponent, the Northgate Vikings in the semifinals of the state playoffs. Northgate defeated Kell in their playoff match last week, 34-21 and now will have a chance to play in the state championship for the second time in school history.
