After an emotional season-opening win, the Liberty County Panthers have to re-fill their tank.

That may not be a difficult task tonight as the Panthers and the Bradwell Institute Tigers renew their rivalry at Olvey Field/Hokey Jackson Stadium.

The Panthers, 1-0, are coming off a 33-29 last-minute win against Southeast Bulloch on August 18, giving the Panthers an extra day of rest – even if they didn’t return home until well past midnight.

The Tigers bounced back after a poor first half in their season-opening 34-12 setback to Wayne County, a game that last past midnight.

For the Panthers, their thoughts in their first game were on the Yellow Jackets and not the second game.

“What we said at the beginning of the year is one game at a time,” Panthers interim coach Tony Glazer said. “The kids were 100% focused on Southeast Bulloch, but some of them may have had Bradwell in the backs of their minds. We try to take it day-by-day and practice period by practice period.”

On top of the dramatic last-minute comeback, in which the Panthers went nearly the length of the field in just three plays for Ron Golden’s winning touchdown catch with 7 seconds to left, it was also their first game since the offseason death of longtime coach Kirk Warner. Warner’s son James presented the game ball to Glazer in the post-game huddle.

Glazer lauded his players’ character and composure, especially after SEB took the lead for the first time with 7:25 to go.

“The never wavered,” he said. “Their character and fundamentals came through.”

Bradwell trailed 34-0 at halftime as Wayne County scored on each of its first five possessions. The Tigers held the Yellow Jackets to four first downs in the second half while the offense amassed 150 total yards.

“My kids showed character and they fought for four quarters,” Tigers coach Deshon Brock said of his team, “and that’s what we ask of them, to compete.”

The Tigers threatened on each of their first two drives of the game, getting stopped on fourth down at the Wayne County 28 and missing a field goal after getting to the Jackets 4.

The lengthy lightning delay meant there was no halftime after the game resumed. Coach Deshon Brock and the Tigers made sure to put the time from the in-game break to good use.

“We have replay and were able to watch and see some adjustments we wanted to make for the second half,” he said.

Both Liberty and Bradwell had trouble against the run – SEB rolled up more than 300 yards on the ground against Liberty, and Wayne County ran for 260 yards.

The two teams did not face each other last year. They played twice in 2020, with Liberty prevailing 9-7 and 30-20.