FORT BENNING, GA - The Chattahoochee County High School Panthers (Region 4-A) defeated the Columbus High School Blue Devils (Region 2-AAA) 22-16 in the first scrimmage game of the season Friday at Chattco.
The Blue Devils drove the ball to the Panthers' 10-yard line and with less than six minutes in the first quarter, scored on a 27-yard field goal. Panther Dequavious Barbin scored a touchdown from 20 yards out, and with the two-point conversion, they led 8-3 to close out the quarter. In the second quarter, the Panthers took possession after stopping the Blue Devils on a fourth down.
Scoring another touchdown and two-point conversion, the Panthers increased their lead to
16-3. With two minutes left on the clock, Blue Devil Demetrius Jackson scored from the Panther's 16-yard line, narrowing the Panthers lead to 16-9 at halftime.
Late in the third and final quarter, Columbus tied the score 16-16. With 12 seconds left on the clock, Panther quarterback David Cochran hit Niko Jones on a 35-yard catch-and-run scoring the winning touchdown.
"There are a lot of mistakes made in scrimmage (games) but the team showed an amazing amount of heart and fought through adversity to get the win," Panthers' coach Josh Kemp said. "We were in control most of the game except for the last few minutes. We had some crucial mistakes that almost cost us the win."
Kemp said the entire offense and defense are new because many players graduated, so he is working on rebuilding the team.
"We won today, but it's back to work tomorrow," he said.
"The game was close toward the end of the third quarter. We played pretty good defense and offense and everybody worked hard and played well," said Barbin, a Chattco senior and son of SFC Anthony and LaTonya Barbin. "I saw a lot of hustle, dedication and heart on the field."
Cochran said the team can use the scrimmage as a learning tool.
"The offense is not where we need to be right now," he said. "We are still making mistakes, but we will work those out before we play our next game."
Up next for the Panthers is their first season game at 7:30 p.m. today in an away game against the Calhoun County High School Cougars (1B-A).
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