SPRING GARDEN – There’s been a legacy of football players at Spring Garden who have worn the No. 1 jersey, including current Berry College freshman tight end Luke Welsh.
Freshman John Welsh is just beginning to live up to his older brother and the No. 1 jersey’s legacy.
With the Panthers clinging to a one-point lead early in the second quarter, Welsh blocked a Southeastern punt and returned it for a touchdown. The play seemingly opened the flood gates in fifth-ranked Spring Garden’s 49-12 Class 2A, Region 6 victory on senior night, which secured the fourth straight undefeated season in region play for the Panthers (9-0, 7-0).
“Number 23 (Noah McCray) is a big dude, and I thought he was going to come and block me,” John Welsh said. “All three of those up backs went to the right and nobody blocked me. I just had a clear shot to him (Southeastern punter Micah Faulkner) and blocked it. I thought they were going to jump on my back when I was picking up the ball, but it was amazing. I was pretty hyped.”
The freshman went on to score the Panthers’ final touchdown on a 59-yard run in the fourth quarter.
When asked if he feels he’s living up to that No. 1 jersey legacy, John Welsh paused a moment before he answered.
“My brother wore it for us, and all the ones before him were really good at football too, so I have to carry on that legacy,” he said.
“It was a close game, and when John blocked the punt, that sort of got some energy going for us,” Panther head coach Jason Howard said. “He did good.”
The freshman Welsh wasn’t the only Panther player to do good. Sophomore quarterback Chapel Pope connected on his first nine pass attempts and finished 10-of-12 for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Senior wideout Cooper Austin accounted for both of those touchdowns. He finished with seven catches for 140 yards.
Senior running back Andrew Floyd added 106 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. He gave the Panthers an early 7-0 lead with his 49-yard touchdown run with 10:34 to go in the first quarter.
“Andrew ran the ball real well. Chapel came on as the game progressed. Cooper caught the ball real well. Larry Rogers made several good catches. I feel like our line blocked pretty good for us. We’re taking those steps to get where we need to be,” Howard said.
After Floyd’s first touchdown, Southeastern (5-4, 4-3) answered with a methodical 12-play, 58-yard drive in which Benjamin Hall caught a tipped 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jackson McMillian. McMillian’s 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete to keep the score at 7-6 Panthers with 4:48 remaining in the first quarter.
It remained a one-point game until John Welsh’s blocked punt for a score put the Panthers up 14-6. Following another Mustang punt, Spring Garden scored again just before halftime on a 19-yard Pope-to-Austin pass connection. Larry Rogers added the extra point for a 21-6 Spring Garden halftime advantage.
Rogers intercepted a McMillian pass to open the third quarter and returned it 24 yards down to the Mustang 16-yard line. Three plays later, Floyd found the end zone on a 4-yard run to push the Panther lead to 28-6 with 9:29 left in the third quarter.
Southeastern countered with a McMillian 65-yard touchdown strike to Hall. McMillian’s 2-point conversion pass was intercepted by Landon Gowens, keeping the score at 28-12 Panthers.
Pope ran in for a 2-yard score on Spring Garden’s next possession. He closed out the third quarter with a 59-yard touchdown strike to Austin to give the Panthers a 42-12 edge.
Welsh added the Panthers’ final touchdown on his 59-yard run with 8:46 left in the fourth quarter.
Spring Garden has a chance to make more history next week when it travels to Class 1A, No. 6 Wadley (9-0). A win there in the regular-season finale would clinch the Panthers’ first undefeated regular season in school history before they host a first-round playoff game against Hatton on Nov. 5.
“It would be nice (to finish the regular season undefeated), but the big picture is we’ve got to get healthy and get ready for the playoffs. That’s more important than that,” Howard said. “I’m not downplaying it. We’d like to be 10-0. It’s never been done here, but at the same time, I think next week’s game is a good one for us, to see that type of athlete. That’s what we’re going to see in the playoffs. We’re playing a quality team. To me, it’s a great opportunity of what we need to get ready to go to the playoffs, if we can get through it without getting anybody hurt. That’s the big thing.”