Spence Massey picks up yards on a carry against Creekside Christian Friday.

CHULA — “Red White and Better Than You,” read the banner the Panther cheerleaders held so the football team could storm the field. The government warning from the movie The Purge played as Panther players tore through their banner. The Panthers were playing the Creekside Christian Academy Cougars Friday and made their first game a success, winning 53-12.

Seniors Dalton Jones, Casen Royal, Render Robbins, and Spence Massey were picked to represent the team for coin toss. Tiftarea Academy won the toss and received the opening kickoff. During the first Panther drive the quarterback threw an interception and Creekside ran it for a touchdown. The Cougars went for a two-point conversion and were stopped by the Panthers’ defense.

After receiving the kick again, the Panthers were ready to give their offense another chance.

Massey completed a 50-plus yard touchdown run and tied the game soon after the Cougars took the lead. The extra point attempt by the Panthers was no good.

For the entire first half, the Cougars offense did not score against the Panthers defense and the only points scored were early in the game with their interception. The Cougars were forced to punt the ball on every fourth down because they couldn’t drive up the field.

The Panthers defense constantly broke through the Cougar Offensive line. This created pressure for the quarterback and punter. At one point the Panthers were so eager to sack the punter that their rush ended up making the Creekside punter run for a first down. This energy was apparent for Tiftarea on every down.

When the first half was coming to an end, Adam McKinney intercepted a Cougar pass. The Panthers scored another touchdown and failed at getting a two-point conversion. The score after the first half was Tiftarea Academy 33 and Creekside 6.

In the third quarter, the Cougars were able to score one more touchdown and failed at getting a two-point conversion. This was the final time the Cougars scored against the Panthers. The Panthers put up three more touchdowns, including a touchdown pass to Casen Royal.

The final score was Tiftarea Academy 53 and Creekside Christian Academy 12.

Tiftarea Academy head coach Erik Soliday spoke with the team after the game and said, “We can’t afford to lose a single down.”

“We gave up a lot of third and longs tonight, and we are going to fix that next week,” said Soliday. “As a whole our run defense played pretty well.” When asked about his offense he said, “We did pretty good at times, we sputtered here and there, but as whole I thought we moved the ball decent, but we need to get more consistent with our passing game.”

There are four more home games to look forward to for Tiftarea Academy. The next home game is on Sept. 7 against Lanier County at 7:30 p.m.