The last time the Bulloch Academy Gator football team took the field at Paulson Stadium they walked away with some hardware as the GIAA state champions. Saturday night, the Gators left Paulson with a trophy again as they knocked off the Portal Panthers, 49-20, in the Erk Russell Classic.

Having to replace 14 senior starters from their 12-0 state title team, coach Aaron Phillips was excited to see what this year’s squad could do. After the game he was quite pleased with the effort and execution.

“All summer we talked about how the 2024 team graduated and what would the 2025 team look like,” Phillips said. "I think they answered the bell. This group is young and inexperienced, but they get after it and are a pleasure to coach. They don’t quit and play with relentless effort, which is tough to beat, which is a testament to our coaching staff.”

Last year the Panthers gave the Gators their closest contest of the season when they came from a 13-point deficit but ended up falling 19-18. Saturday night, it looked as though the two teams would have a similar game as they went to the half with the Gators leading 21-14. 

The Panthers struggled in the third quarter though, and the Gators took advantage coming up with a pair of safeties and pulling away outscoring the Gators 28-0 before a late Panther touchdown.

“I felt like our defense really came out strong in the second half,” Phillips said. “We put pressure on them and that caused the ball to be on the ground, and we took advantage. Our offense played solid throughout, but our defense really stepped it up when we needed them to in the second half behind guys like Jack Lanier, James Lee and Braylon Cone, as well as everyone we kept rotating in.”

Panther coach Jason McEachin went into the half thinking the Panthers were playing pretty well, but was very frustrated with how they played in the second half.

“This game went completely the opposite of how I thought it would go,” McEachin said. “The first half was okay even though we couldn’t get them off the field on offense. The second half was a disaster. Offense, defense and special teams all blew up in the third quarter. I guess our character and leadership is not to the point of handling adversity. That is something we are really going to have to work on the next week.”

 The Gators started the scoring on a one-yard Donya Garvin touchdown to take a 7-0 lead, but the Panthers answered quickly as Jason Crawford took a handoff on his own 12-yard line and showed power and speed, breaking tackles and outracing the Gator defenders for an 88-yard touchdown. The extra point failed, and Portal cut the lead to 7-6.

The Gators responded in the second quarter as quarterback Sam Hubbard helped move the team down field and Garvin capped the drive with another one-yard score for a 14-6 lead.

The Panthers came right back again. After a 53-yard kickoff return by Brian McQueen, Zeke Purcell scored on a 23-yard touchdown run. A Crawford two-point try was successful and the game was tied at 14-14. 

Hubbard added a 10-yard touchdown run for a 21-14 Bulloch Academy halftime lead.

In the third quarter the problems began for the Panthers. Pinned deep, a bad snap on a punt sailed into the end zone resulting in a safety and a 23-14 lead. The Gator offense then added a touchdown as a Hubbard pass was tipped into the arms of Billy Crider who caught it in stride and scored from 30-yards out. The Gators added another safety and a Case Woodrum field goal to go up 35-14.

In the fourth, the Gators added short touchdown runs by Hubbard and B.J. Smart to go up 49-14. Portal came through with a late 70-yard touchdown run by Purcell for the final points of the night.

Up next the Gators host Claxton Friday at 7:30. Portal has a week off before hosting Twiggs County Aug. 29.