PORTAL - Late in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand, Portal Head Coach Jason McEachin and his staff didn’t like how his defense was lined up, so he took a time out despite leading by 26 points. 

The timeout proved useful as the Panthers held Hawkinsville from scoring on their third down play and then stuffed the Red Devils on fourth down to keep them off the scoreboard and preserve the shutout in a 26-0 season-opening win for Portal.

“That was huge,” McEachin said of getting the shutout. “Those don’t happen often and they especially haven’t happened here very often recently so any chance you get to do that, that’s a real clear indicator that your defense has played good football. I’m very proud we got that done.”

The Panthers (1-0) held Hawkinsville (0-1) to 188 total yards of offense on the night, with 60 of those coming on their final drive when some of the second string were in the game.

“We prepared well all week,” he said. “Our guys did a good job of being where they are supposed to be, being gap sound and filling where they were supposed to be and trusting each other to do their job and it kept paying off.”

Not to be outdone, the Panther offense also played well. Quarterback Elijah Coleman accounted for three touchdowns with two on the ground and one through the air. He was 8-12 passing with 89 yards and also carried the ball 14 times for 94 yards. He would have more than 100 were it not for a 22-yard loss when he tried to reverse field on a running play only to be dragged down for a big loss.

For good measure, he also picked off two Hawkinsville passes in the first half.

After a scoreless opening quarter, the Panthers opened the scoring just two plays in to the second period. Sophomore Brian McQueen, playing only because Coleman’s helmet came off on the previous play, was able to find Amir Jackson who broke a tackle and was able to find the endzone to put Portal ahead 6-0.

The touchdown finished off a 26-yard drive that was set up following the Panther special teams sniffing out a Red Devils fake punt to set Portal up with excellent field position.

The Portal defense stepped up again on the Red Devils’ next possession, stopping Hawkinsville on a fourth and two near midfield.

Portal then embarked on a 11-play drive covering 46 yards that was aided by a key offsides penalty against Hawkinsville as the Panthers faced a third and three.

Finally, on third and two from the Hawkinsville three, Coleman was able to elude a defender and race to the corner, just getting across the goal line for the Panthers’ second touchdown of the night.

Portal lined up for a trick play for a PAT and appeared to convert when Coleman’s pass found Chase Smith in the end zone. After initially ruling the try successful,  the officials conferred and a flag was thrown for illegal touching, negating the conversion but Portal still had a 12-0 lead.

Hawkinsville appeared to answer on their next possession when the Red Devils’ Nelson Singletary took a pitch and then found Bryson Singletary open. Bryson Singletary then outraced the Portal defense to the end zone. 

The officials flagged Hawkinsville for illegal procedure and called the play back, which was one of six Red Devils’ penalties in the first half. 

On the next play, Coleman intercepted Malik Brown’s pass near midfield and weaved his way through traffic before racing down the right sideline for an apparent touchdown. This time, it was Portal’s turn to have a touchdown called back as the Panthers were flagged for illegal block in the back.

Despite the penalty, Portal was able to go 46 yards in just three plays culminating with a 22-yard touchdown pass as Coleman found a wide open Samari McBride over the middle for the score. Portal’s PAT hit off the upright to keep the score at 18-0.

Portal’s defense held Hawkinsville to just five first downs and 93 yards of offense in the first half while the Panthers racked up 179 yards in the first half and 10 first downs. 

“Our plan early was to work the ‘go’ stuff and try to use tempo to tired those guys out,” McEachin said. “They have a lot that play both ways. That worked, we did that and they we got under center and just pounded it at them which is why we have the ability to do what we can with both types of offenses.”

The receiving trio of Jackson, McBride and Charles McNeal accounted for nine catches,100 yards and two touchdowns between the three of them. 

Neither team was able to do much in the third quarter, with McBride picking off the third Red Devils’ pass of the game to stop the Hawkinsville drive at the Portal 19.

The Panthers were unable to sustain their next drive and were unable to convert when a fumbled snap on a punt turned into a run that came up a few yards short of a first down.

Three plays into the fourth quarter, McQueen snagged a Red Devils’ pass for Portal’s fourth interception of the night. 

Five plays later on the Hawkinsville 43, Coleman fumbled the snap under center, picked it up and ran around the right side, breaking a tackle, making a defender miss and then cutting across the field to cruise in for his second rushing score of the night.

Coleman bobbled the snap on the PAT try, but was able to spin and race to the left front corner of the endzone for the two-point conversion to cap off the scoring for the night. 

While impressed with the win, McEachin knows there are still areas they can improve as the season progresses.

“I’m ready to watch the film and find areas so that we don’t get too overconfident and find areas we can still improve,” he said. “We have not even gotten close to scratching the surface of our ceiling. But these kids defended our home turf. We’re 1-0 in front of our home crowd and that’s what we talked about all week.”

Portal takes on Twiggs County next week at home with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.