BY NOAH GRIFFITH
FOR THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — A packed-out set of bleachers, a lively band and four rushing touchdowns by junior Luke Sexton willed the Smiths Station Panthers to a homecoming victory over the Johnson-Abernathy Graetz (JAG) Jaguars on a cool, October Friday night in Panther Stadium, 42-32.
Smiths Station improved to 2-5, and the win marks the first time it has had a multi-win season since 2021. Just a year ago, the Panthers had no wins all season, so it was cause for celebration from a passionate Smiths team that wanted to show out for a supportive home crowd.
“I just — I’m just happy for them. We’ve won two games this year for the first time in their careers,” said first-year head coach Blair Harrison. “You’ve got to learn how to win sometimes; we went through some ups and downs, and we went to another level tonight.”
Following an electric pregame show by the band, the Panthers kept the crowd on its feet. Smiths led 14-0 three-plus minutes into the game before JAG ever got the ball and kept the lead throughout the contest.
The Panthers received the opening kickoff and drove the ball 70 yards in four plays, completed by a 21-yard TD run by Sexton. Adding to the excitement, Smiths proceeded to recover an onside kick and run three plays to score again on a 5-yard rumble for Sexton’s second TD.
That was only the beginning of a huge night for Sexton. The fullback racked up 265 yards on the ground along with scoring four of the team’s six TDs. He showed off his broken-tackle ability with several spin moves, trucking defenders and refusing to go down.
“He’s hard-nosed. We’ve known that he was good, we just haven’t been blocking for him all year,” Harrison said of Sexton. “Tonight, we just put it all together. He hit the holes — just a great performance.”
JAG got on the board to end the first quarter with a physical run by the quarterback (No. 4), but it remained a 14-6 game after the two-point conversion attempt failed on a pass defended by Smiths Station senior Rashawn Goods.
The lone score in the second quarter gave the Panthers a 21-6 lead going to halftime. After Sexton converted a 4th-and-6 on a run inside the 10-yard line, freshman running back Jeremiah Owens rumbled into the end zone from four yards out to make it a 15-point Panther lead.
A turnover on downs from each side ensued, and JAG drove the ball before the clock ran out on the opening half. Smiths thought it had a fumble return for a TD on the final play, but the runner was ruled down before losing the ball.
It didn’t take long for Smiths to add on in the second half. However, JAG found some rhythm and explosion on offense in the half.
After forcing the Jaguars to punt to start the third quarter, Sexton zoomed down the field for a 50-plus yard house call. The score made it 28-6, the Panthers’ largest lead of the night.
JAG converted a pair of unlikely fourth downs on the ensuing drive to snatch some momentum. After No. 4 scrambled to Smiths Station territory, No. 8 took a snap at QB and converted a 4th-and-7 on a completion to No. 7. After a few penalties on the offensive line pushed them back to the 17-yard line, the Jaguars punched it in on a pass from No. 4 to No. 8. The two-point attempt was no good to make the score 28-12.
Adding to the excitement, JAG recovered a fumble on the next drive in Panther territory. A few plays later, No. 8 ran it in for a two-yard TD. The two-point attempt failed again, making the score 28-18.
That score started an offensive shootout, but the Panthers outlasted the Jaguars.
Sexton made it 35-18 on the next drive with a 15-yard run for his fourth and final TD of the day, but another 4th-and-2 conversion by JAG helped it answer swiftly. No. 8 ran it in on 4th-and-goal from two yards out and again took it in for a two-point conversion to make it 35-26 to open the fourth quarter.
At that point with JAG within single digits, Smiths dropped the dagger.
Starting at midfield after recovering JAG’s onside kick, Sexton juked and spun his way to the 7-yard line. That set up junior RB Trevon Kee to take it in for a 5-yard TD scamper to go ahead 42-26. Kee finished the game with 101 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Sealing the deal, JAG drove down into the red zone on the next drive, but sophomore safety Hunter Whale snagged an interception in the end one for a touchback with five minutes remaining in the game.
JAG got the ball back and scored with less than two minutes remaining in the game, but after Smiths recovered another onside kick, all the Panthers had to do was take a knee to complete the 42-32 win.
The home crowd erupted into a frenzy as Harrison and his team jumped and shouted victoriously.
“It was an amazing environment tonight,” Harrison said. “We got the crowd, we got the facilities, we got administration, we got the coaches, we’ve just got to keep getting better.”
With wins over Shaw (Ga.) and JAG, Smiths Station now has more wins this season than the past two years combined (1). JAG, on the other hand, falls to 1-5 in a battle of two teams who desperately needed a win.
Despite the monumental win, Smiths Station has a tough upcoming schedule. Next week, it stays home to face Auburn High (5-2), who is coming off a 36-0 loss to Central-Phenix City. It will then finish the season by facing 7A Region 2 opponents Dothan (3-3) and Enterprise (2-4).
Regardless of its final record, Smiths Station has made crucial progress in year one under Harrison – particularly on offense. That was evident on Friday night, as Smiths tallied 415 yards of offense in the confidence-building win over JAG.
