Staff Reports
SPRING GARDEN – It’s becoming a common occurrence for the Spring Garden Panthers to have multiple players step up when they need them the most.
In last week’s first-round playoff win over Hatton, it was Larry Rogers’ opportunity to make several big plays. On Friday against Aliceville, it was junior Cam Welsh’s turn in the Class 2A, No. 5 Panthers’ 40-35 victory.
Welsh had six catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns from his tight end position.
“You need that person opposite of Cooper when he draws so much attention,” Spring Garden coach Jason Howard said. “We’ve got people stepping up and doing it right now. Last week, Larry stepped up big for us and this week Cam stepped up big for us.”
Welsh helped give Spring Garden (12-0) a 21-0 lead in the second quarter with a 26-yard touchdown catch from sophomore quarterback Chapel Pope. Senior receiver Cooper Austin accounted for two other Panther first-half scores on a 2-yard touchdown catch and a 10-yard run.
Austin led the Panther receivers with seven receptions for 100 yards and three touchdowns. Pope connected on 14-of-17 pass attempts for 202 yards and five touchdowns.
But the Yellow Jackets (8-4) battled back to tie the game at 21.
Quarterback Ty Williams had a 2-yard run for their first score. Senior running back Jermaine Brewer then added a 65-yard touchdown reception to end the first half at 21-14. Brewer opened the third-quarter scoring with an 11-yard touchdown run to even the score.
“We felt like Aliceville was a really, really good football team,” Howard said. “We got up on them early, but after we got up, they didn’t put their heads down. They fought right back, and it was just a back-and-forth ball game.”
The Panthers regained the lead on Cam Welsh’s 27-yard touchdown grab from Pope, then Austin had a 17-yard connection with Pope near the end of the quarter to put Spring Garden in front 34-21.
But Aliceville fought back again, as Brewer caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Williams. The 2-point conversion trimmed Spring Garden’s advantage to 34-29 after three quarters.
Austin scored his final touchdown with 6:55 remaining in the game on a 36-yard catch. The try for 2 was no good, keeping the score at 40-29.
Brewer caught an 11-yard touchdown pass with 5:23 to go for the final.
Senior Andrew Floyd gained 102 yards on 24 carries to lead the Panther ground game. Pope added 66 yards on 21 totes.
Defensively, the Panthers forced four turnovers. Connor Bates posted five tackles and recovered a fumble. John Welsh and Gavin Bass both had a fumble recovery, and Rogers had an interception.
The win sends Spring Garden to the third round for the fourth consecutive year where they will face the team that ended their season last year in the state semifinals, Mars Hill Bible (9-3). Fourth-ranked Mars Hill defeated Tanner 47-20 in other second-round playoff action on Friday.
“You’re going to have to go through them to get to the big dance,” Howard said. “It says a lot for our kids to be able to be there.”