With two quarterbacks down and an eighth grader at the helm, the Georgiana Panthers traveled to Kinston to face a hungry Bulldogs team and left with their first scoreless game of the season as Kinston shut the Panthers out 41-0.

But Georgiana head coach Ezell Powell didn’t blame the loss on being shorthanded.

On the contrary, the Bulldogs exerted their physicality over the Panthers that left them with few ways to respond.

“Kinston did a great job of being more physical than we were, and we just couldn’t match their physicality over four quarters of the football game,” Powell said. “They just wore us down and did what a good physical team normally does.”

With star Jacquez Payton sitting on the sidelines for the entire game with a knee injury, Georgiana’s limited offensive repertoire was little match for the overbearing Bulldogs defense.

And even though the loss to Kinston means the end of the road to the playoffs for the Panthers, it’s the beginning of a much longer road.

“I’m hoping the guys came out of the game understanding that we’re going to have to get stronger and more physical in order to compete for a regional championship and a state championship as we move forward,” Powell said.

“That sealed our fate in a sense in getting into the playoffs, but we’ve got two ball games left and we want to try to finish those two ball games on a positive note as we go into the offseason.”

The Panthers face the Florala Wildcats next Friday in their final region game of the year. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.