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By Scott Mims | Freelance Writer

The Pelham High School Panthers won the battle of the big cats over the Chilton County High School Tigers Friday night, 37-14.

The final score did not reflect the closeness of the game in the first half. It was neck-and-neck through nearly three quarters, until Pelham scored a safety late in the third to break the 14-all tie. From that point onward, the Panthers pulled away to their first victory of the season.

“I am proud of our guys,” said Pelham coach Mike Vickery. “I thought Chilton County played really well tonight. We were able to take advantage of a few mistakes here and there. We made some big plays in the second half to stretch out the lead.”

Like Pelham, Chilton County has only one win in the books for the 2024-25 season. Coach Eddie Wall remains optimistic about his team, despite the loss Friday night.

“We’ve just got to figure out ways to get out of our own way most of the time,” he said. “I told them I felt we had a good week of practice. It all kind of goes into what we’ve been trying to preach to these kids. I love being there, I love them, I love being a Chilton County Tiger. I told the kids we’ve just got to keep fighting, do the right thing, do it to the best of our ability and on Monday we’re going to start preparing for Brookwood.”

The Tigers drew first blood Friday night, as Logan Coppedge found Luke Moatts on a 27-yard touchdown pass with 8:19 in the first. Pelham’s Kalib Porter answered with a 20-yard rush to the end zone.

The Panthers doubled their lead in the second as Jacob Gibbs hauled in Logan Strunk’s 27-yard pass for another touchdown. Chilton County’s answer came in the third quarter as Kelijah Lucas scored from 2 yards out to tie the game at 14, with the added point after.
Everything seemed to pivot for the Panthers when Uriah Barginere made a tackle for a safety with just 16.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Then, Porter’s 40-yard dash across the goal line gave the Panthers a healthy lead.

Going into the fourth, Dylan Smith completed a 51-yard pass to Marcus Arnold with 11:42 on the clock, and the ensuing PAT made it 30-14 Panthers. Smith then took it home 25 yards for the final score of the game.

Chilton County (1-4) hosts Brookwood High School on Sept. 27 for its homecoming game at 7 p.m.