MOUNT AIRY, Ga. – Jackson County matched its best regular season in program history with a 34-21 win over Habersham Central Friday night.
With the win, the Panthers will be the No. 2 seed out of Region 8-4A and will host a playoff game for the first time in program history.
The Panthers started the game by getting on the board first with a 47-yard field goal at the 3:03 mark from Carson Odom before Daylan Maxwell found a 22-yard run after a Raider turnover to lead 10-0 after the first.
The Raiders struck back early in the second quarter on a Donnie Warren 1-yard rush to cut the lead down, but the Panthers extended the lead back out at the 4:44 mark on a 76-yard bomb from RJ Knapp to Jacob Coombs. Habersham Central didn't go quietly into halftime as Bradon Strickland caught a Paris Wilbanks pass from a yard out, capping a 98-yard drive to slim the lead down to 17-14 at intermission.
From there, it was all Jackson County as Coombs and Knapp linked up again midway through the third before Maxwell got an 8-yard run midway through the fourth to take a 31-14 lead. After Wilbanks found Jay Feltus for a 47-yard touchdown with 3:40 left, the Panthers bled the clock all the way down to 47 seconds and an Odom 27-yard field goal to get to the final score.
The Raiders put up 411 yards of offense, led by 334 through the air from Wilbanks, while Jackson County had 162 yards rushing from Daylan Maxwell to lead the way with his two touchdowns.
Both teams will be in the playoffs in two weeks.
