By Landen Todd
The Panthers dominated Habersham Central 40-7 at Raider Stadium tonight.
The undefeated Panthers entered as one of the top teams in Georgia, and a 26-point second quarter made the difference tonight.
The Raiders looked good in the first quarter by getting a stop on defense at midfield to force a punt.
On the next drive, three costly penalties were committed by the Jackson County defense, and HCHS took advantage. On third-and-six on the four-yard line, senior quarterback Paris Wilbanks rolled out to the right for a touchdown to go up 70 with 4:23 left in the first.
Jackson County senior quarterback Ben Musser passed to Noah Norwood for a 65-yard touchdown toward the end of the first to make it seven apiece.
In the second quarter, Jackson County started to run away with it. Three touchdown passes by the Appalachian State commit and a pick-six thrown by Wilbanks made it 33-7 at halftime.
Habersham Central Ellie Smith was named homecoming queen and Drake Roland was named king during halftime.
The running clock was declared during the second half for a final score of 40-7.
The Raiders (2-3, 1-2) head on the road to play Apalachee on Friday, Oct. 2.