HOSCHTON, Ga. — Things are not always as they appear.
On the surface, Jackson County’s 31-7 loss to defending Class 5A state champion Coffee Friday night in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs looks like the Panthers are still a long way from competing for the ultimate prize.
However, Panthers coach Korey Mobbs said they saw everything they needed to continue climbing toward the state’s upper-echelon programs.
“We started four seniors on defense tonight and just two on offense. So there was a lot of youth out there on the field that was introduced to Big Boy football,” Mobbs said after addressing his team. “They're defending state champs for a reason. You can tell physically; you can tell in the weight room, and we've said the last two weeks that we're at a certain point in the program.
“We finished 8-2 and checked off a bunch of boxes this year. But the climb to the top is so much tougher and so much more difficult. (The kids) saw firsthand what a championship team looks like.”
And the defending state champions wasted little time in flexing their muscles and jumping on the Panthers. Quarterback Bray Coe hit Ricquwan Jefferson for a 19 yard pass on the opening play and then Tyrese Woodgett raced 48 yards for a score just 29 seconds into the game for a 7-0 lead.
The Trojans forced a quick Jackson County punt and then drove 83 yards on their next possession, capped by a 4-yard TD run from Woodgett for a 14-0 lead six minutes in. It looked like the rout was on.
“I think the speed of the game got us early,” Mobbs said. “If we could have gotten them on the ground a couple times in those first two series and not let them pop big ones, then maybe it's different. But our kids battled. I mean, nobody quit. We'll learn from it.”
The Panthers did settle down from there, and after trading possessions and punts into the second quarter, Panthers’ quarterback RJ Knapp got going. Knapp hit Daylan Maxwell for 55 yards on a screen and later connected with Caden Daniels on a beautiful 25-yard strike to the Coffee 2. Two plays later, Knapp found a wide-open Maddox Griswold for a 5-yd TD pass to trim the lead to 14-7.
Knapp was 9-of-14 for 123 yards and the 1 TD in the first half. But the Coffee defense clamped down on the Panthers run game, holding Maxwell to zero (0) yards and the team to minus-19 yards (with Knapp getting sacked 3 times).
Less than two minutes after Jackson County cut into the Coffee lead, Woodgett struck again for a 56-yard touchdown run, and Jonah Saylor booted a 25-yard field goal for the Trojans to give them a 24-7 lead at the half.
The Panthers stormed out in the third quarter, driving to the Coffee 26 as Maxwell found some traction. But the drive stalled, and Carson Odom’s 43-yard field goal sailed wide left.
Both defenses were tough to crack, as both teams were stopped on downs twice in the second half. The only score came with just over three minutes left on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Coe.
Woodgett piled up 150 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns for Coffee (9-2).
Knapp finished 14-of-22 for 150 yards and the 1 TD passing. Maxwell had five catches for 61 yards, and Robert Spry had four catches for 32 yards for the Panthers.
Coffee sacked Knapp 6 times on the night and piled up another 11 TFLs for 18 negative plays for the Jackson County offense. The Panthers finished with minus-4 yards rushing for the game, including the sacks.
It was the Panthers' first-ever home playoff game, and the 8 wins tied a program record for a season. Knapp, Maxwell, Griswold, Robert Spry, and a pair of big junior and sophomore classes will be back next season.
Mobbs felt the trajectory was on the rise in Hoschton.
“Maybe people look at the score and say, ‘This wasn't a very good game.’ I would argue with that,” he said. “We have a lot to be proud of, but you know, we're going to work to find a different outcome come this time next year. This was hopefully just the beginning for us.”
