Southwest DeKalb benefited from a resilient defense and some key Cedar Shoals turnovers, as the Panthers prevailed in their second-round playoff matchup 13-0. A Sharrod Golightly 35-yard interception return for a touchdown with 10:44 left in the fourth quarter sealed the win for the Panthers after the Jaguars lost three fumbles in the first half, all in Southwest DeKalb territory. “The guys did a hell of a job, I don’t know how else to describe it,” Panther head coach Buck Godfrey said, referring to his defense. “We worked a lot on tackling this week, a lot of fundamentals, and that paid off for us.”
Allen Stripling got the turnover fest started early in the first quarter when he chased down and stripped Cedar Shoals quarterback Rashad Dalton of the ball. Anthony Allen recovered at the 15-yard line. Later, in the quarter, Southwest DeKalb’s Godfrey Burrell recovered a Tremaine Goddard fumble after Cedar Shoals (7-5) had crossed into Panther territory. The final turnover came after a blocked punt set the Jaguars up at Southwest DeKalb’s 18-yard line. Several plays later, Muhasibi Wakeel landed on a Dalton fumble at the Panthers 5-yard line. Wakeel led Southwest DeKalb in tackles with 13.
The Panthers (9-3) finally took advantage of Cedar Shoals not capitalizing on good field position, as they scored the game’s first points right before halftime. Kendrun Malcome ran in from 1 yard out and Southwest DeKalb led 7-0 at the intermission. Malcome finished with 75 yards and the touchdown on 27 carries.
The cold weather made for a smaller-than-usual Hallford Stadium playoff crowd, but both teams had plenty of chances to keep each other warm in the run-heavy battle, contested mostly along the line of scrimmage. Trailing by seven and pinned deep in its own territory early in the fourth quarter, Cedar Shoals decided to go to the air and that is when Golightly came up with the interception. “All I saw was the end zone and white lights,” Golightly said about what he was experiencing after coming up with the game-changing turnover. “The defense was outstanding, we practiced all week and it showed on the field.”
The Panthers, the No. 3 seed from Region 6-AAAA, will travel next week to play at Griffin, which beat Brunswick 34-30.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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