Bartlett took over on downs and cobbled together an impressive drive all the way down to the Dragon 10 before penalties stymied the drive. On fourth down, the Panthers lined up for a 31 yd field goal attempt that was moved 5 yards back for an illegal substitution penalty. The 36 yard attempt fell short. The Dragons took over on their own 20. On third and 10, Hall scrambled right and hit Sr WR Jonathan Abel on a come-back route that spotted the Dragons with a first down on their own 35. A perfectly executed block by Sr C Matt Fields on the inside backer popped Sr FB Cody McMeans loose for a 26 yd gain to the Panther 39. On second down at the 34, with one linebacker spying on QB Hall, Matt Fields again dominated the right inside backer to spring Cody McMeans on a 22 yd romp to the Panther 12. Then, faking to McMeans, QB Brian Hall followed blocking backs Jordan Pedron and Noel Moyes behind left tackle Scott Eller for a 12 yd TD run. The PAT by Brett Caldwell was good and with 1:58 left in the first half, Collierville led 7-0.

On the following kick-off, a hustling Zack Palmer nailed the Bartlett returner at the 23. With the Dragons playing in a loose prevent defense, the Panthers moved the ball to the Dragon 40. On the last play of the half, Sr DB Taylor Walker broke up a well-thrown pass at the goal line to preserve the Dragon lead at the half.

Jr RB Noel Moyes fielded the second half kickoff at the 20 and returned it to the 35. The Dragon ground game drove the ball to the Panther 39 yd line where on third and 10, Jr RB Noel Moyes made a concentration catch on Brian Hall’s tipped pass to set the Dragons up with first down at the 26. In a replay of the first Dragon touchdown, Brian Hall sprinted off left tackle behind Sr T Scott Eller and Soph TE Harrison Bizzell for a 15 yd score. Brett Caldwell’s PAT kick on Jonathan Abel’s hold was good and the Dragons extended their lead to 14-0 with 6:49 left in the third quarter.

Brett Caldwell’s kickoff was another touchback and the Panthers set up shop on the 20 with first and 10. While the Dragons let them out of the hole, physical play by the Dragon D, led by Sr DE Ben Huff, Jr DT Taylor Krag, Sr DT Garrison Smith, and Jr DBs Lane Maynard and Jason Smith, forced the Panthers to punt from their own 43. Outstanding punt pressure by the McMillon brothers, Sr Tyler and Jr Josh, forced a tipped punt for a net punt of only 3 yards for the Bartlett Panthers. This gave the Dragon Offense excellent field position at the visitor’s 46. The Dragons chose to line up behind the Hawgs (Scott Eller, Andrew White, Matt Fields, Jordan Whitten, Nash Jackson, Harrison Bizzell) and let all the backs share the load down to the Panther 15 (all runs, except for one SportCenter Highlight catch by McMeans out of the backfield). Then, QB Brian Hall ran option left, lost the handle on the ball which providentially bounced into the hands of Noel Moyes who then scampered untouched into the end zone for the Dragons’ third TD of the night. Abel’s hold was steady, Caldwell’s kick was true and the Dragons extended their lead to 21-0 with 29.3 seconds left in the third quarter.

Another Brett Caldwell touchback on the kickoff put the ball in play at the Panther 20. Instead of folding, the Bartlett offense put together another good drive mixing up the pass and run and scored from the Dragon 30 on QB option right on a missed defensive assignment. With 8:22 left in the game, Bartlett was on the board with Collierville still leading 21-7.

The ensuing kick off was short and bouncing on the ground when Jr Lane Maynard scooped it up at the 16 yard line where he proceeded to thread his way through the Panther special team for an outstanding kickoff return to the Bartlett 33. On first down, Sr FB Cody McMeans was called on for another fullback counter which was blocked to perfection…with one linebacker spying on QB Brian Hall, the interior line of Matt Fields, Andrew White, and Jordan Whitten put on a blocking clinic. Once in the secondary, a hurdling Cody McMeans cut back on a perfectly timed downfield block from RB Noel Moyes and hit paydirt from 33 yards out. In a flash, the Dragon Offense had blindsided the overmatched Panthers and recovered their 21 point lead. Brett Caldwell’s kick was good and the score stood at 28-7 with 7:59 to play.

Bartlett began playing “4-down ball” and turned the ball over on downs at their own 44 yd line. A Collierville fumble at the end of a long first down run gave the ball back to the Panthers at their own 15 yd line. To their credit, the young Panther team drove the ball down the field and with 3:18 remaining in the game scored to cut the Dragon lead to 28-14.

Bartlett’s onside kick was short and Jonathon Abel nearly picked it clean for a possible run to the end zone. Instead, the ball went out of bounds at the Bartlett 43 where the Dragons took over. With Jr QB Jason Smith guiding the offense, FB Casey Shockey tore off 6 yds on first down. The Dragons continued to pound it up the middle until Sr RB Brock Merryman following key blocks by Andrew White and Tyler McMillon raced into the end zone to tally a 13 yard TD run. Brett Caldwell’s PAT was good and with 33.3 seconds remaining in the game, the Dragons prevailed 35-14.

As the dust settled across the Mid-South Friday night, it was determined that the pathway to the 5A State Championship Game will be fought out intra-regionally as Region 8 (Collierville, Houston, Germantown, White Station) won out against each of their Region 7 opponents. This brings the defending 5A State Champion Germantown Red Devils to Region 8-5A Champion Collierville Dragons this Friday night to play for a slot against the winner of the White Station-Houston game. Game time is 7:00 pm at Herman Osteen Field in Collierville.