The Morton Panthers took the early lead over East Marion last Friday, they kept the lead for over half the game, but allowed the visiting Eagles to take the lead, and the win in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers looked good early, and converted opportunities to points on the scoreboard and take the lead 8-0.
Soon after, East Marion got on the scoreboard and tied the game at 8-8 midway through the first quarter.
The homestanding Panthers then scored 14 unanswered points to take a 22-8 which they held on to until the third quarter. But that was the last points the Panther offense would put on the board that night.
Even though they did not score in the third quarter, the Panthers held a lead throughout the quarter and led 22-16 to begin the final quarter of play. MHS was outscored 20-0 in the fourth quarter and ultimately fell 36-22 to East Marion.
MHS head coach Sean Gerald said that this was a tough loss for his team, but his team played hard and had their chances to win. “We did not come up with the win for our home fans last Friday, but we did see improvement and we are only going to get better,” he said.
After moving the ball early and finding the endzone numerous times, the Panther offense was controlled in the second half as East Marion scored 28 unanswered points in the second half.
On offense MHS was led by sophomore running back Robert Jennings who had 157 yards on 20 carries and one rushing touchdown. Through the air the Panthers quarterback James Johnson completed 7-out-of-18 passes for 105 yards with one scoring toss and one interception.
Defensively, Morton was led by Brandon White and Natthew Brasfield. White accounted for a team high 8 tackles (6 solo) with two for a loss and three quarterback hurries. Brasfield added 4 tackles and 3 QB sacks on the night.
After dropping three straight home games the Panthers are now 1-3 on the season. Morton will be on the road this Friday night when they travel to Star to play the McLaurin Tigers who stand at 2-2 on the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
