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The Georgiana Panthers shut down the Keith High Bears in the first round of playoffs 61-0 on Friday. The team will now travel to face Leroy High School in the second round on Nov. 17. Head coach Berry Bess and quarterback No. 10 Jacobie Morgan spoke on the team’s performance and the game to come. 

Morgan said the Panthers played great as a team against Keith High, and that he is happy to have gotten this far in the season. 

“I’m very happy that my head coach got his first playoff win under his belt, as well as our team,” Morgan said. “I know that we all want a lot more so we’ll have to lock in and keep winning. Knowing Leroy beat us last year, we are going to have to play as a team and play smart. I know that we can win because I know what we are capable of, but we are going to have to go hard at practice, pay attention in film and understand what we have to do to win.”

Bess said what he enjoys the most about the Georgiana team is how they stand up to the challenges each week and how they are working together as a unit, sometimes aiding each other when mistakes are made. 

“We are happy to get a win in the postseason but the work is not done yet, we want to go 1-0 each week,” Bess said. “Leroy eliminated us last year in the first round of the playoffs on their way to win state. We are excited to get the match-up this season.”

Morgan got the Panther’s on the board with a 6-yard run and conversion pass to No. 6 Jay Smith. Morgan completed two more touchdown passes to No. 7 Quan Scott and No. 5 Demetrius Watson before extending the lead with a rushing touchdown. Running back No. 2 Cam Miles scored for the Panthers and No. 1 Marques Payton recovered the ball in the end zone. Senior No. 3 Jacquese Abner scored a couple of rushing touchdowns, and No. 14 Jaderian Peterson scored the Panthers final touchdown of the night.

Georgiana Administration Assistant Carlton Edwards commended the Panthers for their determination despite the rain Friday evening. 

“The game started rocky for us because of the rain, but the players decided to have a rain party,” Edwards said. “Mindset is everything and we finished with a blast.”