HOSCHTON, Ga. — With his thumb and index finger less than an inch apart, Korey Mobbs summed up Jackson County’s frustrating 27-11 loss to Clarke Central Friday night at Panther Stadium.
“We were that close, but we were also that far away,” Mobbs told his team after watching them hold Boise State commit and Clarke Central quarterback Hezekiah Millender to his lowest output of the season.
It was a huge matchup for both teams as they opened Region 8-5A play. The Gladiators (2-3, 1-0 Region 8-5A) were regarded as the preseason favorites but looked vulnerable coming into the game.
Six times, Jackson County moved into Clarke Central territory in the game. However, only twice -- a 31-yard Carson Odom field goal in the third quarter and a 29-yard touchdown pass from RJ Knapp to Caden Daniels in the fourth quarter -- would they manage to break through a Gladiators defense that was allowing nearly 30 points/game on the season.
Millender came in averaging over 200 yards/game passing but was held to just 5-of-12 passing for 84 yards by the Panthers defense. But Millender did some serious damage with his legs, finishing with 106 yards on the ground, scoring three times, including a crushing 26-yard touchdown run on a 4th down early in the fourth quarter for a 21-3 lead after Jackson County looked ready to force a turnover on downs.
“The difference maker in the game is (Millender),” Mobbs said. “We can't get him on the ground, and then on our side offensively, we were just a little off tonight. How close were we in the first half, right?”
The Panthers (3-2, 0-1 Region 8-5A) allowed eight sacks of Knapp, who finished with 11-of-26 for 236 yards but he threw a pair of interceptions as he was harassed and on the run on almost every one of his 26 attempts.
“Clarke is certainly athletic. We've got to do a better job of protecting RJ,” Mobbs said. “But credit to their defense front. They were able to pin their ears back when they got in third and long, and that's not a very good situation for anybody.”
Jackson County came in averaging nearly 150 yards on the ground. They were held to 68 yards rushing by the Gladiators.
The Panthers’ first two drives reached Clarke Central territory, but both times, the Glads defense turned them away. Dream Freeman thwarted Jackson County's first drive with a sack and back-to-back QB pressures, forcing a punt.
Millender and the Gladiators answered that stop with a fast five-play drive, starting with a 22-yard run by Millender. On a 3rd-and-9 at the Panthers' 32, Millender found Xayvian Berry across the middle for a 32-yard touchdown to grab the initial lead, 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
Jackson County appeared ready to respond quickly as well. Knapp hit Daniels on a 41-yard bomb to the Clarke Central 19 but the drive stalled with two incomplete passes into the end zone and a pass attempt on a fake field goal also falling incomplete.
“I called that fake field goal there early because I thought it was going to be a track meet, and it ended up not being,” Mobbs said. “Our defense kind of settled in and did a really good job, I thought.”
The Gladiators struck quickly again, needing just five plays again, highlighted by a 63-yard run from Corey Watkins, to push their lead to 14-0.
The Panthers got what they felt was a key break and a chance to perhaps cut the lead in half when an errant Millender pitch was recovered by Mason Allen midway through the second quarter. But the Glads' defense forced the fourth of five Jackson County punts in the first half.
Jackson County drove into Clarke territory for a third time late in the second quarter, but the Gladiators again denied the Panthers.
Jackson County managed just 117 yards of offense in the first half. Clarke Central piled up 275 yards in the opening half but had just 101 yards after its first two drives, including missing a 45-yard field goal.
Jackson County finally got rewarded for a drive into Clarke Central territory on its second half's opening drive. After Maxwell converted a 4th-and-1 with a 47-yard bolt down the Gladiators' 14, Odom booted a 28-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-3.
After the special teams blocked a Gladiators punt, Knapp connected with Daniels and then converted a 2-point pass to trim the lead to 21-11 with 6:16 left.
But any comeback thoughts were dashed when Clarke needed just five plays, all on the ground, and capped by Millender's 26-yard touchdown run to seal the game.
Jackson County is still looking for its first-ever win over the Gladiators. The Panthers fell to 0-9 all-time against Clarke Central with the loss.
