It was finally time for the long awaited night, the Southport vs. Perry Meridian football game, a rivalry that has been going on for as long as the two schools have existed. Falcon stadium was filled with fans, and the stands were great seas of red and blue.

What did the night have in store?

The Cards started off strong with a 32-yard field goal by senior kicker Donovan Craig, giving them a 3-0 lead after the first quarter.

But, they weren’t quite able to keep that momentum going in the second quarter. The Falcons were able to take advantage of many small mistakes made by the Cardinals, which allowed them to make four touchdowns. For example, the second Falcon touchdown came after a punt by Craig was blocked and then recovered.

“Work on the little things and we’ll be good,” sophomore quarterback A.J. Reynolds said.

During this quarter, SHS only made one touchdown. In this play, junior running back Josiah Ottinger made the biggest run of the game, finding a hole in the Falcon defense to get a 45-yard run. Then, a 14-yard pass from Reynolds to senior wide receiver Pierce Birge completed this sequence.

Halfway through the game, the score was 10-28 with the Falcons leading.

In the second half, the Cards were able to hold the Falcons to only three points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth quarter, a major improvement from earlier on in the game. It was clear that they were more comfortable with how the Falcon offense operated.

Some key differences between the Cards and Falcons were that the Cards sustained two turnovers, while the Falcons had none. Additionally, the Cards were only able to complete two of their nine attempted third down conversion attempts, while Perry Meridian was able to complete nearly 50% of their 15.

Though the game didn’t go as the Cards had hoped, with the ending score being 17-38 Falcons, the team never gave up and kept working until the clock ran out of time.

Reynolds was proud of his team, and said they were “still fighting till the end.”

And, fans of the Cards should be looking to the future. The team will continue to work and improve, so be prepared to see what will come for them next.

“We’ll be ready for next year,” Reynolds said.