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The Pelham Panthers rallied in the second half to pull away from Chilton County and earn their first win of the 2024 season. (For the Reporter/Brandon Sumrall)

By SCOTT MIMS | Special to the Reporter

CLANTON – The Pelham Panthers won the battle of the big cats over the Chilton County Tigers on Friday, Sept. 20, 37-14, at Chilton County High School.

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,” Pelham coach Mike Vickery said. “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.”

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 to tie the game at 7.

The Panthers doubled their lead to 14-7 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 two yards out to tie the game at 14 with the added PAT.

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 23-14 lead.

Porter finished the game with 129 rushing yards and two touchdowns off 15 carries.

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, sealing the 37-14 win.

Smith went 10-for-17 for 169 yards and two total touchdowns, one passing and one rushing, and Strunk was 2-for-2 for 41 yards and a touchdown.

Arnold led all receivers with 96 yards and a touchdown off four catches. Owen Hoar had three catches for 50 yards, Gibbs earned two catches for 37 yards and a touchdown and Tristan Darden grabbed three catches for 27 yards.

Over on the defensive side, Hollis Davis earned an interception to give the Panthers a turnover.

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,” Wall 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.”

Pelham will have a bye week in Week 6 before resuming region play at home against Spain Park on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. for its annual homecoming game.

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