BY EVAN BROWN
FOR THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LANETT — Lanett High School came up just short of completing a fourth-quarter comeback Friday, Nov. 6, falling 30-25 to Clarke County High School in the first round of the AHSAA Class 2A playoffs.
The Panthers (7-4) trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half but kept finding ways to stay in the game. Lanett cut the deficit to four in the third quarter, and a late touchdown pulled it within five with 4:35 remaining. However, Clarke County recovered the ensuing onside kick and held on to end the Panthers’ season.
“I’m just proud of every one of them: the young guys, the old guys, the coaches, everybody,” Lanett head coach R.J. McDonald said. “This one sucks, because this is probably one of the most fun groups I’ve been around. They just come to work every day.”
P.J. Stiggers finished with 146 rushing yards on 16 carries and added 59 receiving yards and two total TDs. Javeion Washington completed 7 of 9 passes for 121 yards and two TDs, and Xavious Walton had 50 receiving yards and a TD.
Defensively, T.J. Tucker tallied 13 total tackles and two tackles for loss, while Braylon Chambers had nine total tackles and two tackles for loss and R.J. Tucker defended a pass.
Clarke County got on the scoreboard first after a short opening kickoff. The Bulldogs (8-3) took advantage of the short field, and Isaiah Davis scored on a 5-yard TD run. Davis added the two-point conversion to give Clarke County an 8-0 lead.
Lanett responded on its next possession. After overcoming several penalties, Washington connected with Walton on a 34-yard TD pass. The PAT was unsuccessful, keeping the Bulldogs’ lead at 8-6.
The Bulldogs answered with another scoring drive late in the first quarter. Martez Owens ran it in for a TD to extend Clarke County’s lead to 14-6.
The Panthers nearly answered with a big play of their own when Stiggers broke free for a 61-yard TD run early in the second quarter, but a holding call brought it back.
Lanett kept moving the ball, and Stiggers eventually broke through for a 50-yard TD run before the Panthers failed to convert the two-point try, leaving the score 14-12 in Clarke County’s favor.
The run proved to be a milestone for the young running back, who surpassed 2,000 total rushing yards on the season with the scamper. Stiggers finished the season with 2,112 rushing yards and 25 TDs on 207 carries — a 10.2-yard average — and added 82 receiving yards and a TD on just four receptions.
“P.J. has been an instrumental part of keeping us in games like this,” McDonald said. “The year he had as a freshman is incredible. It’s one of those years you write down in a history book somewhere.”
Lanett received the opening kickoff of the second half and moved into Clarke County territory, but the drive stalled, and the Panthers turned it over on downs.
The Bulldogs capitalized on the good field position. Davis scored his second TD of the night on a short run, and a two-point conversion put Clarke County up 22-12.
Lanett responded with one of its better drives of the night. Stiggers broke loose for a 20-yard run before Washington connected with him for an 18-yard gain. The Panthers converted a fourth down before R.J. Tucker scored on a 1-yard run off a direct snap. The two-point try failed, leaving Lanett trailing 22-18 with 1:42 remaining in the third quarter.
After Lanett’s defense came up with a fourth-down stop, the Panthers were forced to punt. The Bulldogs took advantage of a short field after a poor punt, and Owens scored his second rushing TD of the night. Peebo Pugh connected with Jamarion Jenkins on the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 30-18 with 4:54 remaining.
Just when it looked like Lanett might be finished, Washington found Stiggers on a screen pass that went 42 yards for a TD, and Anthony Cruz added the extra point to pull the Panthers within five at 30-25 with 4:35 left.
Clarke County recovered the ensuing onside kick and picked up several first downs to run out the clock.
The ground game proved to be the Bulldogs’ bread and butter as they racked up 315 rushing yards on 46 carries — a 6.8-yard-per-carry average. Davis finished with 140 yards and two TDs on 18 carries, Owens rushed 16 times for 58 yards and two TDs and Pugh added 117 yards on 12 carries for Clarke County.
McDonald also pointed to penalties and missed opportunities as major factors in the loss.
“We’ve got to do a better job of capitalizing on things,” McDonald said. “Penalties are a thing that’ll get you beat in the playoffs, and we made too many critical little errors that mattered. That starts with coaching.”
The loss marks the end of the road for 13 seniors on Lanett’s roster. McDonald recalled watching them develop since he arrived.
“I got here when these kids were in seventh grade, so this is my group,” McDonald said. “I watched these guys not be able to do simple things like stretching and jumping jacks, and now they’re great young men.”
McDonald credited the senior class with helping restore the program and bringing hardware back to Lanett.
“They’re going to come back and see the foundation they laid,” McDonald said. “This group was instrumental in bringing hardware back to Lanett.”
The Panthers have plenty of young talent coming back next season, but Friday marked the end of a senior group that helped bring the program back to prominence.
