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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Jemison High School fell just short, 21-20, of making it two-straight seasons with a win over Montevallo High School on Sept. 29. The Panthers held a two-score advantage in the second half, but the Bulldogs scored the last two touchdowns of the game to mount the comeback.

Travon Rudolph got the Panthers going early picking off a Montevallo pass inside the Bulldogs’ red zone. Jemison could not convert the turnover into points, and the game remained scoreless after the first quarter.

Chaz Melton got the Panthers on the board first in the second quarter with a 10-yard touchdown run. Montevallo responded quickly, tying the game up two minutes later. However, Melton continued to churn out solid runs for the Panthers. He ripped off a long run with seconds left in the first half that set up quarterback Luke Gann to find Kintre Jackson from 20 yards out to put Jemison back on top. Gann was 9-for-13 for 149 yards and two touchdowns.

The point after was no good, leaving the score at 13-7 at halftime, a miss that would prove costly later for the Panthers.

The Jemison offense kept humming in the second half as Gann took a long run inside Montevallo territory. That set up Melton’s second touchdown of the night from 40 yards out on a pass from Gann that stretched the lead to 20-7.

Montevallo responded quickly again with a touchdown pass to keep the game at one possession, 20-14. The Bulldogs got the ball back right before the end of the third quarter and used a lengthy drive to get to the doorstep of the Jemison end zone in the fourth. Montevallo capped the drive with a short touchdown run that put them ahead 21-20, and the Panthers could not mount the late-game comeback.

Jemison (1-4) hosts Holtville High School on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in their next game.