2011 Football: Panthers sack Bulldogs, but Gallatin makes playoffs with 7-point win in finale

"We played our poorest game of the year against a very good and physical team,"said GHS head coach Kevin Meyer. "Hopefully we can bounce back and get a win, along with a seven-point victory," he added.

The loss puts the Bulldogs in a tight spot, with one week left in district play. South Harrison controls its own destiny with a 2-0 district record after its win over Braymer. Polo and Gallatin both sport 1-1 district marks.

Polo will likely finish 2-1 with a win over Braymer on Thursday. A Gallatin victory over South Harrison would throw the district into a three-way tie with Polo, Gallatin and South Harrison each sporting 2-1 records. That’s where the tie-breaker comes into effect.

In case of a three-way tie, the team with the most playoff points, awarded for margin of victory or loss up to a maximum 13 points per district game, would be declared the district winner. Looking ahead, Polo would likely be the district champ if Gallatin knocks off South Harrison, but Gallatin must win by at least seven points to gain the second playoff spot.

A Gallatin seven-point victory would leave both teams with +7 playoff points but Gallatin would advance because of the head-to-head win over South Harrison.

Dexter Daniel recovered a muffed punt to set Gallatin up for a go-ahead score against Polo. Zach Lollar connected with Chad Ness on a 25-yard pass play, good to the Panther 25. Ness took a direct snap in the wildcat formation and ran into the end zone from 13 yards out. Daniel added the PAT kick.

A muffed Bulldog punt started the Panthers on a surge that would carry into the fourth quarter. Zach Freeman took a inside counter handoff and raced 56 yards to paydirt. Austin Bowley ran in a two-point conversion to give Polo a one-point lead.

Less than a minute later, a jarring tackle on a sack separated Lollar from the ball and Polo’s Wiley Martin recovered on the Bulldog 31. Martin lined up in the backfield and ran in from two yards out pad Polo’s lead. Isaac Mattis tipped a conversion pass.

With 10 minutes left to play in the second quarter, Lollar drew an intentional grounding penalty in order to avoid a fifth quarterback sack of the half. The penalty yardage and loss of down put the Dogs in a third and 22 hole they could not escape.

Jonathan Shelton’s 85-yard run gave Polo a 20-7 advantage before the end of the half. Lollar went down under the weight of a fifth Panther sack and threw an interception after being chased out of the pocket by a heated rush.

Polo made it 26-7 with a one-yard run by Freeman. A fumble during a sixth quarterback sack gave the Panthers the ball after Daniel had recovered a Polo fumble on the Panther 14.

Jack Malo recovered another Panther fumbled early in the fourth period but a bad snap from center led to another Bulldog turnover and score. Daniel Boruch became the fourth Panther to score on a running play when he converted a nine-yard run into six points.

Gallatin tacked on a late touchdown, set up by a long run by Jordan Jeffers, who finished with a team-high 92 yards rushing. Lollar hit Ness with a short pass and he eluded one tackler on a six-yard linkup.

On the defensive side, Gallatin registered three quarterback sacks, two from Hayden Bott and one from Michael Stanley.

Should the Bulldogs grab the second playoff spot, they will travel to Wellington to face the #1 ranked Wellington-Napoleon Tigers on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

GRC Standings — Week 9

Oct. 21 Results

Polo 32, Gallatin 13

S. Harrison 48, Braymer 8

Rock Port 21, Maysville 13

Princeton 42, Putnam Co. 24

King City 32, Albany 27

Hamilton 41, Trenton 6

Oct. 27 Schedule

Gallatin at S. Harrison

Hamilton at LeBlond

King City at Maysville

Princeton at Marceline

Albany at Rock Port

Braymer at Polo