By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
PETAL – Penalty kicks proved to be Petal’s downfall Tuesday night in a Region 6-6A showdown against Brandon.
The Panthers surrendered a penalty kick in the first half, and PKs proved to be the difference after Petal rallied for a tying goal in the second half, as the Bulldogs prevailed 3-2 in an overtime shootout.
The Panthers lost their second straight match after 10 straight wins to open the season, and evened their region record at 1-1. Brandon improved to 5-3-3 and 1-0.
“It is (a crapshoot),” said Petal coach John Dick. “Their keeper made some great saves. Nobody tonight missed on their PKs. The keepers just made the saves.”
Petal found itself under severe duress through most of the first half, as the Bulldogs used ball possession to force the Panthers back on their heels.
“Our backline has a really great relationship; we’re all brothers back there,” said junior defender Gabe Jones. “I think with the first few minutes of a game, you have to get your bearings.
“You take your time, take a deep breath, play had and play smart. That’s all it takes.”
Petal junior Bubba McLemore stood tall in the net throughout the night, as he had five saves in the first 30 minutes. His best effort came in the 19th minute when he made leaped high to knock out a shot from deep in the scoring zone.
“Really, I don’t know what it is; I just always give my best effort,” said McLemore, who finished the night with 10 saves. “What was going through my mind was just, ‘save the game.’”
But in the 32nd minute, the Panthers were whistled for a tripping foul inside the 18-yard-box and senior Reece Gibson buried the ensuing penalty kick for a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute of play.
The 1-0 halftime score could have been worse for Petal, as Brandon had 16 shots, 7 on-goal, and three corner kicks in the first half.
“Really, we just readjusted and told the boys to come back out and play the way we play,” said Dick. “Just stay calm, collected, work on possessing the ball and try to find runners down in the corners.
“We gave them too much space on the ball in the first half, where they were able to be successful. The second half, we were able to have our boys mark them tighter to win the ball back.”
The Panthers came out with a much different attitude defensively in the second half, but still had trouble penetrating the tough Bulldog backline in the scoring zone.
Midway through the second half, Brandon got back-to-back shots on goal, pressing forward after a pair of free kicks.
That played into Petal’s hands, as the Panthers’ leading scoring tandem of senior Anthony Kenmore and sophomore Dylan Dykes beat the Bulldogs down the field on the counterattack.
Dykes drew the thin back line to his position, and was able to rifle a pass to Kenmore, who had an open look from 20 yards out on the left side, and he buried the shot for the tying goal.
“Dylan had the ball up the field, and I just felt it in my bones,” said Kenmore, who scored his 11th goal of the season. “I called for the ball, he got it to me, and I ran up on it. I shot it with confidence. It was a great moment.”
It was the only shot on-goal for Petal in the second half, but it was enough to send the game to overtime when neither team was able to score again in regulation time.
“This season, we’ve had some really great second halfs,” said Jones. “So, automatically, we were going in pretty confident, thinking that this was our game to turn around.
“We just took a reset, thought of it as a new game. We calmed down and started making some good passes to get off our heels a little more in the second half.”
Defenses dominated in the two 10-minute overtimes. Brandon managed a shot on-goal in the first extra period, but Petal didn’t get a shot of any kind in either overtime, and the game went to a shootout.
“It was a struggle, because basically, we lost the game on PKs,” said McLemore. “But I’m proud of the way we played tonight.
Brandon junior keeper Cameron Kent stopped Petal’s first shot, and the Bulldogs were good on their first two tries.
Kenmore and Dykes both put their shots in, and McLemore gave the Panthers a chance by stopping Brandon’s third try.
But Kent knocked away Petal’s fourth shot, Guyton Adcock scored on Brandon’s fourth shot, and Kent made a third save to win the game for Brandon.
“We’re not out of it,” said Kenmore. “We still have a lot of learning left to do, a lot of growing together. We’re growing together as a family. That’s what’s most important for us this year.”
There was no such drama in the girls’ game as Brandon rolled to a 4-0 victory. The Bulldogs scored three goals in the first half and added a fourth goal late in the second half.
Isabella Scott scored two goals for Brandon (9-4-0, 1-0), and Connerly Tigrett had a goal and an assist. Petal dropped to 7-3-2 and 1-1.
Petal will be on the road at South Jones Thursday in its last game before the holiday break, then will be back in action at home January 4 against Northeast Jones.
Photos courtesy of Jesse Johnson
Photos courtesy of Mark Magee
ANTHONY KENMORE #9 NOT ALEX!
My apologies. Thanks for the heads-up. I will correct that.
Awesome!! Thank you so much!! Great article!!