Scoreboard: Perry downs undefeated Westside 39-7, Warner Robins bounces back
The Perry Panthers strengthened their commanding grip on their region Thursday night, shutting down an undefeated region opponent for the second straight week in a 39-7 win over Westside at the Panther Pit.
“This does put us in the driver’s seat, and we want to stay on the win side, because that’s what counts in the playoffs,” said Perry head coach Kevin Smith. “Now we have to readjust going on the road to Griffin and Baldwin. Those are two traditionally powerhouse football teams. We have a lot of things we gotta get better at.”
The win brings Perry to 2-0 in region play and 5-1 overall after last week’s dismantling of Howard. The Seminoles suffered their first loss of a now 4-1 season, and are 0-1 in the region.
A harsh wind chilled the fans and players alike, but it was the latter of the two who had a tough time. Perry quarterback Armar Gordon Jr. had a few inaccurate throws in the first half, but made clutch plays happen to give his squad an early lead.
“The wind affected the ball some tonight, but he adjusted, people are used to him being perfect,” Smith said. “As he goes, we go, and he made good decisions tonight. A very mature player, as you said.”
The wind hurt Westside as well, however, and in much bigger ways. Solid defense by Perry and bad, wind-blown punts by the Noles let the Panthers start from the Westside 20, 10 and the seven yard lines all in the first half.
Perry scored on all three of those drives before the Seminoles could put up any points of their own.
“We take pride in our defense, our defensive staff do an outstanding job,” Smith said. “The standard is way up there for our kids. That gave us that short field.”
Gordon was inconsistent passing in the first half thanks to the weather, but completed passes when it counted. He was 3-of-8 passing in the half with two touchdowns and an interception.
Running back Demetrious Carter also punched in a score on one of the Panthers’ red zone drives, giving them three touchdowns in the first half along with a field goal and a two-point conversion.
Westside’s defense was solid when Perry started from outside the red zone, but the offense couldn’t find its groove.
Running back Kadiphious Iverson paced the Noles for one scoring drive led from their own 22-yard line and punched it in, but it was their only score of the half. The Panthers had the lead 25-7 at the break.
Perry’s grip on the contest turned to iron in the second half, shutting out the Seminoles for the remainder of the game. While Westside did notch another interception in the half, the Panthers answered with two of their own.
They also added 14 more points thanks to multiple breakout plays from Carter, who broke off one 46-yard reception for a score and ended up with three touchdowns on the night.
Gordon Jr. finished the game with 179 yards on 9-of-22 passing along with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Carter finished with three scores of his own and 89 total yards. Two-way player Tre Wright also stood out from both sides of the ball, racking up a touchdown reception and an interception.
Most area games were moved to Thursday night due to concerns earlier this week about Hurricane Ian.
Other scores:
Northside 42, Tift County 0
Baldwin 45, Howard 0
Carver Atlanta 8, Peach County 6
Lee County 43, Houston County 21
Warner Robins 38, Ola 0
Prince Avenue Christian 47, Mary Persons 14
Jones County 42, Eagles Landing 19
Southwest 33, Rutland 14
Northeast 47, Central 0
ACE 42, Kendrick 0
Thomas County Central 48, Veterans 21
Commerce 31, FPD 26
Bleckley County 45, Westfield 14
Southwest 33, Rutland 14
Tattnall 42, Frederica 18
Stratford 45, Deerfield 7
Wilkinson County 56, Twiggs County 6
