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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Jemison High School put together a complete game on its homecoming night against Montevallo High School earning the Panthers first win of the season, 30-22 on Oct. 25. Jemison forced three turnovers and Chaz Melton had three touchdowns to snap a 17-game skid dating back to last season. It was also the first win of head coach Rishard Davis’ tenure with the program.

“We have been trying every week, and the boys have been dialed in, we just had a lot of games where things did not go our way and we did not know how to respond,” Jemison head coach Rishard Davis said. “Last night I thought we responded well … It was one of those games where we just kept playing, and we did not try to make things happen, we just executed, did our job and came out on top.”

Montevallo opened the game’s scoring as Razareo Conwell took in the two-yard touchdown run to put them ahead 7-0 early. The Panthers responded right away with a touchdown on their next possession, capped by a two-yard rushing touchdown by Chaz Melton, but the point after was missed to keep Montevallo ahead 7-6. Conwell ran for 45 yards on 10 carries for the Bulldogs.

Melton continued his hot start, punching in a three-yard touchdown just before the end of the first quarter, and Graden Mims’ two-point run gave Jemison its first lead of the game at 14-7. Jemison’s Noah Szymula picked off a Montevallo pass in the second quarter, and teams traded field goals down the stretch of the first half — Arturo Alvarenga from 14 yards away and Chris Borraz from 21 yards away, to send the Panthers into halftime up 17-10.

“I felt like turnovers were the story for us tonight,” Montevallo head coach Garrett Langer said. “We got inside the 10-yard line twice, inside the 20-yard line three times and just could not come away with enough points when we got down there. It really hurt us tonight.”

The team’s played to a stalemate in the third quarter, but Melton got back into the end zone early in the fourth quarter for his third rushing touchdown of the game, this one from two yards out, to further the Jemison lead to 23-10 after the missed point after.

Montevallo continued to fight, and Jordan Ward powered in for a two-yard touchdown run to shrink the lead to 23-16. However, the two teams traded touchdowns down the stretch with Ward throwing a touchdown pass to Deterrius Cutts and Mims grabbing a touchdown catch for Jemison, but time ran out on Montevallo as Jemison took the win.

“You cannot really tell (what this type of win will mean), especially in high school football and last year does not matter,” Davis said. “At the same time, kids are kids, and they need to see a win. It is easier to work after a win than it is a loss. It is just hard to tell right now, but we have to take it and build on it.”

Jemison (1-8) wraps up its season hosting Hale County High School on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.