JEFFERSON — Jackson County rallied from an early 14-point deficit to knock off East Hall 34-28 in overtime Friday night at Panther Stadium.
The Panthers (3-1) trailed the Vikings (0-3) 14-0 in the first quarter before unleashing their ground game behind Malik Tuck. The senior running back piled up 351 yards rushing on 36 carries and scored four times on runs of 14, 88, 28, and 6-yards to lead the comeback.
Jackson County rallied to tie the game at 14 by halftime but fell behind 21-14 in the third quarter. The Panthers scored a pair of second half touchdowns to take their first lead 28-21 in the fourth quarter but the Vikings ran the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown to tie the game and eventually send it to overtime.
In the overtime, Jackson County stopped the Vikings on four plays and then got a 1-yard touchdown run from Jorge Monzon for the game-winning score.
The Panthers will travel to arch-rival Jefferson next week in both teams' Region 8-AAA openers.
East Hall will travel to Lumpkin County in their Region 7-AAA openers.
