The Portal Panthers will square off against the Claxton Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Portal has given up an average of 35 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Portal is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Emanuel County Institute on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Panthers were dealt a 41-14 defeat at the hands of the Bulldogs. The Panthers were already down big by the end of the third quarter and they stayed that way after failing to score in the fourth.
Portal's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Gideon Fulcher, who rushed for 73 yards and one score on only seven carries, and Jason Crawford, who rushed for 36 yards and one TD. Fulcher got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 69 yards.
Meanwhile, Claxton was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their tenth straight defeat dating back to last season. They took a 19-6 hit to the loss column at the hands of Savannah.
Claxton's loss dropped their record down to 0-8. As for Portal, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.
Everything came up roses for Portal against Claxton when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 35-0 victory. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
