The Portal football season began with hopes of continuing an upward trend started in 2022. It's safe to say that goal has been met — and much, much more — as the Panthers have won their first ever region championship and then notched its second state playoff victory in program history.

While Portal lost a heartbreaking game Friday night to Telfair County, Josh Flemming had a great senior season.

As with most successful teams, Portal gets its start in the trenches, with senior Josh Flemming getting the job done on both sides of the ball.

"Josh has had a very productive season this year for us on both sides of the ball," Portal coach Jason McEachin said. "On top of being a good football player, Josh is also a great student and has tremendous character. He is a very coachable young man and will always do his best fulfill any assignment asked of him. He was also just named a 1st Team All-Region offensive lineman."

"This season has been a huge turnaround for me and the team," Flemming said. "I mostly have been working on me being more consistent and productive on both sides of the ball. I try to bring a lot of leadership as far as teaching the younger players what to do and what to expect as grow as players and as they get older."