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Basketball season notwithstanding, it’s been a while since Jackson County fans have seen the home team put up points at the rate the Panthers are scoring through two games this season.
Off the heels of a 42-7 win over Sonoraville on Friday night, the Panthers are not only 2-0 for the first time since 1981, they’ve also scored at least 40 points in two straight games for the first time since 1990 — at least a year before most current Panthers were born. This is the first time a Jackson County team has scored 40 points in back-to-back games to open the season.
Making the eruption more surprising is the fact that Jackson County was shut out four times and scored only 88 points all of last season. With 86 points scored already this year, they’re tied atop the area with Buford and Jefferson.
Part of the reason for the newfound productivity could be how quickly the Panthers have taken to their new spread offense.
Quarterback Alex Crawford completed 12 of 21 passes for 121 yards Friday night and has accounted for five total touchdowns in the first two games. Charles Smothers has led the rushing game with 150 rushing yards on 14 carries to go with three total scores, and Michael Pesaresi emerged as a running threat with 89 rushing yards Friday night.
The news isn’t all sunny in Jackson County, though.
The win over Sonoraville was marred by multiple personal fouls, and Smothers was ejected after reportedly retaliating to a racial taunt.
Per GHSA rules, he’ll have to sit out the Panthers’ next game, Sept. 18 against Prince Avenue Christian, when the current squad will attempt to match the 1981 team’s 3-0 start.
Dueling defenses
Two of the area’s top defenses through two weeks will tussle Friday night when Gainesville travels to Cleveland to take on White County.
The Red Elephants (2-0) have yet to allow a point, shutting out Chestatee and Franklin County to open the season. White County (2-0) is coming off a shutout as well, a 33-0 win over East Hall.
The Warriors have allowed just 225 total yards in their wins, a number in the area matched only by Gainesville, which has allowed 235 total yards this season.
Comparing the teams’ common opponent, Gainesville appears to have the edge. The Red Elephants stomped Franklin County 41-0 on Friday night, while White County edged the Lions, 10-6, in Week 1.
The Warriors are also saddled with the task of containing the area’s most prolific offenses. Gainesville has topped the 400-yard mark in total offense in both wins, averaging 426 yards and 37.5 points per contest.
Etcetera
Lakeview Academy (1-1) is averaging more than 200 yards rushing per game in its second varsity season after a 27-13 win over Towns County on Friday night in Hiawassee. Fullback Tom Drury is among the area’s rushing leaders after topping the 100-yard plateau for the second straight game. … Habersham Central survived a nail-biter Friday night, getting a much-needed 13-12 win over Heritage in Conyers. The Raiders (1-1, 1-1 Region 8-AAAA) lost in Week 1 in gut-wrenching fashion, rallying to tie Cedar Shoals, only to fall 16-13 in overtime. … Johnson fell to 0-2 on Friday night after a 28-0 loss to a Class AAAAA North Forsyth team that hasn’t allowed a point in 2009. The Knights haven’t been done any favors in the scheduling department, with a competitive loss to defending subregion 7A-AAA champ North Hall coming in Week 1. Johnson (0-2) will attempt to get in the win column this week when it plays at Chestatee (0-1). … Eight Falcons caught at least one pass on Friday night as quarterback Connor Shaw spread the ball around during a 15-for-16, 223-yard, four-touchdown performance in Flowery Branch’s 35-7 win over Lumpkin County.