Long time coming: Petal gets first ever playoff victory with 42-21 win over Gulfport

Posted 10:55 p.m.

By JOSH MLOT
Sports Editor

PETAL — And when it was over, they danced.

The Petal defense caused problems for Gulfport all night, snuffing out the ground game and coming up with three big second-half turnovers in a 42-21 victory over the Admirals in Round 1 of the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs on Friday night. It was the first playoff win in program history for the Panthers. (Photo by Matt Bush)

The Petal football team had plenty of reason to celebrate on Friday night as it pulled away from Gulfport in the second half and dropped the visiting Admirals 42-14 in the first round the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs at Panther Stadium, earning the first postseason victory in playoff history.

“It is (a relief),” Panther senior quarterback Anthony Alford said. “Everyone was talking about a monkey on our back, but I say we accomplished our first goal and we’ve got another goal we’re chasing.”

Alford finally got the sweet playoff win he’s been looking for, completing 11 of 18 passes for 175 yards and a score through the air, while adding 110 yards on 22 carries for three touchdowns on the ground. His 1-yard touchdown with 2:26 left in the third stanza capped an 11-play drive, opened up a string of three unanswered TDs and put the hosts up by two scores.

It was the kind of dominant performance stars put up when it matters most. All despite sitting out virtually the entire fourth quarter after going down with leg cramps.

“The main thing was we wanted to take what they gave us,” Alford said. “We missed a couple of big plays (early) but we settled down after halftime, relaxed and just played our game.”

With Alford on the bench Larson Barkurn made his triumphant return from injury, and the Panthers didn’t skip a beat. On the first play after Alford left the game, Barkurn dropped back and zipped the ball 12 yards into the arms of Akeem Pollard in the end zone. The TD iced the game, putting the hosts up by three scores in the fourth.

“You go back to never winning a playoff game,” Petal head coach Steve Buckley said, “and I think that was something that was in the back of everybody else’s minds, but I don’t think it was in the back of our mind. … We just needed to get a win.”

With 6:11 remaining to play Barkurn then found Terrance Payne on a screen play that went 22 yards to pay dirt, mostly because of Payne’s sensational second effort, rolling off a tackle, somehow keeping his knee off the ground, pushing himself off the turf and running free.

The Petal defense was impressive as well, getting gouged a bit by the Admiral passing game late in the first half, but adjusting and coming up with big plays after the break. After Gulfport threw for 118 yards in the first half, it managed only 72 in the second half, and Admiral QB Daniel Keating was picked off twice — once by Jalen Boney and once by Jesse Jackson.

Panther receiver Akeem Pollard signals touchdown as the officials confer after an Anthony Alford TD plunge against Gulfport on Friday night. Pollard had 73 yards receiving and two scores of his own. (Photo by Matt Bush)

The Panthers also recovered a fumble in the second half, while holding the visitors to 18 rushing yards in the final two quarters. Gulfport averaged only 1.9 yards per carry all night. The Admirals were led by Christian Williams’ 32 yards rushing to go with a late-game touchdown.

Gulfport wideout Travon Travis finished with seven catches for 134 yards and a touchdown, but 110 of those yards came in the first half.

Petal distributed the ball much more evenly, led by Pollard’s six catches for 73 yards and two TDs, but Jamarcus Reviews, Jesse Jackson and Blake Roberts all reeled in two balls apiece as well.

It wasn’t all easy going for the Panthers though. Despite being up by two scores in the first quarter, Petal let the Admirals back into the game when Keating hit Travis in stride just inside the right edge of the end zone despite a pass interference call on Petal. The TD sliced the lead in half and seemed to swing momentum.

On the ensuing Petal possession the Panthers seemed to convert on a big third-and-15 when Revies reeled in a pass, but the ball popped out and much to the chagrin of the home side, the officials ruled that Revies had possession and it was a fumble, as opposed to an incomplete pass.

That gave the Admirals control of the ball at the Petal 34-yard line. But much as they have done throughout the season, the Panthers found a way to respond, as the defense quickly forced Gulfport into a field goal attempt that was missed from 46 yards out.

“I think we’ve done that a lot this year,” Buckley said. “We’ve faced adversity and I think our schedule helped us tremendously to this point. That’s why we played the schedule like we played it.”

Petal's Akeem Pollard stretches for extra yardage after making a catch and taking a hit. Pollard had 73 yards and two TDs through the air in a 42-21 win over Gulfport on Friday. (Photo by Matt Bush)

After the Petal ‘D’ came through, the offense promptly marched down the field, picking up six first downs — two thanks to personal foul flags on the visitors — and Alford dove over the top of the pile to inch the ball over the goal line.

The officials, however, were slow to signal the score, and Gulfport’s Jamison Goins scooped up the loose ball and scampered all the way to the opposite end zone. After minutes of confusion and discussion between the officials and both sidelines, the play was officially ruled an Alford touchdown, giving the Panthers a 21-7 lead.

The play may have given Petal the lead, but it took a toll on its focus, and a minute and a half later Gulfport was scoring a TD of its own, traveling 97 yards on just three passing plays, capped by a Keating 1-yard scoring scamper.

“In the first half I thought we lost our composure at the end of the half,” Buckley said. “The play when (Alford) scored or not on the goal line, and I thought we lost some focus in the discussion there. But we came back in the second half and the defense did what it had to do. … I thought the offensive executed really well down the stretch.”

After missing a 31-yard field goal attempt on their first possession of the third quarter, the Panthers began to roll, with Alford taking off on the ground and gouging the Admiral defense. His third rushing touchdown of the game was followed by Boney’s interception, which set up Barkurn’s first TD toss and solidified the big win.

Petal took its early-game lead thanks to a large helping of air attack. Alford completed six passes on the team’s first two drives, including a 16-yard connection with Pollard that earned a 7-0 lead just over six minutes into the game.

Petal QB Anthony Alford eludes the Gulfport defense during a 42-21 playoff victory on Friday night at Panther Stadium. Alford threw for 209 yards and a touchdown and ran for 110 and three scores. (Photo by Matt Bush)

On the next possession Alford found a wide open Roberts down the sideline for a 34-yard gain that allowed the QB to take the ball in himself for a 14-0 score.

“I thought they were going to play us with a single safety,” Buckley said, “and we had a chance to take some shots downfield.”

And while the Panthers said a playoff curse was on everyone’s minds but their own, just about every player in a Petal uniform broke into dance after the final whistle had blown. Enjoy it while you can.

“We’re taking it one game at a time,” Alford said. “Our goal is to win every game. We’re trying to get to Jackson.”

Petal will now travel to Biloxi on Friday after the Indians dispatched of Hattiesburg 31-6 in the first round.

“We’re not going to talk about anything tonight,” Buckley said. “We’re going to enjoy this tonight and we’ll start on Biloxi tomorrow.”

Check out a full photo gallery of game action…

PETAL 42
GULFPORT 21

Score by Quarter
Gulfport                        0   14   0     7—21
Petal                            14     7    7   14—42

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
P—Pollard 16 pass from Alford, (Reynolds kick), 5:38.
P—Alford 2 run, (Franklin kick), 1:13.
Second Quarter
G—Travis 20 pass from Keating, (Brauchle kick), 9:22.
P—Alford 1 run, (Reynolds kick), 1:34.
G—Keating 1 run, (Brauchle kick), :09.
Third Quarter
P—Alford 1 run, (Reynolds kick), 2:26.
Fourth Quarter
P—Pollard 12 pass from Barkurn, (Franklin kick), 11:23.
P—Payne 22 pass from Barkurn, (Reynolds kick), 6:11.
G—Williams 1 run, (Brauchle kick), 1:21.

TEAM STATISTICS
G                  P
First Downs                14                     20
Rushes-Yards               35-66                45-168
Comp-Att-Int               11-21-2              13-21-0
Passing Yards              190                   209
Total Plays-Yards         56-256               66-377
Punts-Avg.                  4-39.0               2-30.5
Fumbles-Lost              1-1                    1-1
Penalties-Yards            8-85                  6-46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Gulfport—Williams 11-32, Ashley 10-19, D. Johnson 2-8, Keating 9-4, Burks 2-3, Travis 1-0.
Petal—Alford 22-110, Payne 14-40, Reviews 2-16, Barkurn 4-6, Waites 1-(-1), Team 2-(-3).
Passing
Gulfport—Keating 11-of-21, 190 yds., TD, 2 Ints.
Petal—Alford 11-of-18, 175 yds., TD; Barkurn 2-of-3, 34 yds., 2 TDs.
Receiving
Gulfport—Travis 7-134, Floyd 2-36, Lavender 2-20.
Petal—Pollard 6-73, Roberts 2-48, Revies 2-38, Jackson 2-28, Payne 1-22.