Americus-Sumter rolls past Dougherty

ALBANY — Americus-Sumter High School had a chip on its shoulder coming into a Saturday night game against Dougherty — especially after learning they were Dougherty’s homecoming opponent.

The Panthers defense led the way, keeping the Trojans backed into their own territory for most of the first half as Americus won 34-14 at Hugh Mills Stadium.

On their first possession, Anthony Payne got the Panthers’ scoring effort started with a 71-yard touchdown run. Despite the big play, it was the defense that set the tone for the rest of the game.

For the entire first half, the Trojans’ drives ended no farther than the 40-yard line, never once getting into the red zone. The visitors took advantage with less than five minutes in the first half. After getting the ball at the Trojans’ 38, Payne found Daveon Johnson from 28 yards out to stretch their lead to 14.

Americus-Sumter got the ball back, this time on the 20-yard line with 1:31 left in the first half. This time, Payne found Braylen Williams for an 18-yard touchdown catch.

Two possessions later, the Panthers got the ball on the 37 after a 42-yard punt return from Kobe Lewis. Two plays after a 23-yard run by Eric Brown, Lewis plunged in the end zone from a yard out to give Americus-Sumter a commanding lead.

Sewonjai Henderson tacked on a 28-yard touchdown catch on fourth down to give a bit of juice to the Dougherty sideline. The Panthers punted on the next two possessions and the Trojans managed to drive within the 20-yard line.

On third-and-ten, however, junior defensive end Michael Bridges intercepted Malik Marshall’s pass and raced 81 yards to ice the game for the visitors.

The game was stopped for about 15 minutes after Marshall, injured on the interception return, was carried out on a stretcher.

Marshall was the Trojans’ leading rusher at the time of his exit with 61 yards on seven carries. Anthony Payne led the Panthers with 84 yards.

Dougherty will close its season next week when it meets Albany in a rematch of a game the Trojans won earlier this season.