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LANETT — The Lanett Panthers ended the regular season on a high note Friday night with a dominating 48-14 win over the Ranburne Bulldogs at Morgan-Washburn Stadium.

It was Senior Night, and the team made it special with a one-sided win.

The win improved their overall record to 4-5, 3-3 in 2A Region 3, and advances them to the state playoffs.

Lanett has its open date on the final Friday of the regular season. On Friday, November 8th they will take the long trip to Cottonwood, Alabama, located in the extreme southeast corner of the state near Dothan.

Playing really well for the Panthers were quarterback Fred Broughton, running back Ke’ondre Huguley and a whole bunch of guys on defense.

After Lanett had taken a 7-0 first-quarter lead, the visitors mounted an 18-play drive that ate up most of the opening period of play.

The Bulldogs tied the game at 7 with 10:55 left in the half on an eight-yard run. That would be their only scoring drive of the game. The other score would come on a kickoff return when Lanett was ahead 48-7.

Lanett drove 73 yards on their opening possession to take the early lead. Passes from Broughton to Terrell Staples ate up big chunks of yardage on the drive with a 16-yard pass from Broughton to tight end Eddie Mitchell in the right corner of the end zone being the scoring play.

Jonathan Cobon, who had an excellent game, kicked the extra point to give the Panthers a lead of 7-0.

Cobon was seven-for-seven on kicks. He made five extra points and two field goals.

It’s huge for a high school team to have a kicker who’s that reliable.

The game would remain tied late in the first half. A poor Lanett punt had the Bulldogs in business on the Lanett 40, but the Panther defense held strong and Ranburne made a major mistake when they faked a punt on fourth and 16. It went nowhere, and Lanett took over on their 46.

That decision was a big turning point in the game. Had they punted the ball away and backed up Lanett deep on their end of the field they may have gone into halftime tied at seven and perhaps even ahead.

Lanett seized the momentum at that point and never gave it back. On the first play of that series, Huguley rounded the left end, made some great moves and was well on his way to a 54-yard touchdown run. Cobon’s second point-after made the Lanett lead 14-7 with 3:21 left in the half.

The Panthers would never look back from that point on.

Ranburne fumbled the ensuing kickoff with Lanett’s Tyrone Brooks pouncing on the ball at the Bulldog 24. Some major distance penalties hampered the drive, but the Panthers got inside the 10. On fourth and goal from the six, Cobon nailed a 23-yard field goal to increase the Panther advantage to 17-7 with 16.4 seconds left in the half.

Taking a 10-point lead into the halftime break was huge for Lanett. It had been anyone’s game for most of the first half, but it looked to be going Lanett’s way at halftime.

The Panthers took complete command in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-0 to take a 41-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

They made it 24-7 on their first possession of the second half, going 60 yards in just two plays. From the 40, Huguley ran for a first down on the Ranburne 49. On the next play, Broughton hit Terrell Staples on a perfect pass down the middle for a touchdown. Cobon’s PAT made the score 24-7 with 10:34 left in the third quarter.

Being 17 points down, Ranburne had little choice but to try to throw the ball, something they are not very good at. They prefer the ball-control style of play.

Lanett’s defenders were licking their chops with this opportunity. They had a quarterback sack and two pressures on Ranburne’s next possession forcing a three-and-out. Following a punt, the Panthers took over on their 41 and drove it 59 yards for another score. They overcame some major distance penalties to put the ball in the end zone. A 45-yard pass down the right sideline from  Broughton to Huguley made it 30-7. Cobon added the point-after to extend the lead to 24 points. With 6:37 showing on the third quarter clock, Lanett led 31-7.

On their next possession, Ranburne went for it on fourth and seven on their 41. Lanett’s six-foot-four defensive end Jeremiah McGillberry would have none of it, sacking quarterback Young for a loss. Lanett took over on the Ranburne 45. The offense again had to overcome penalties but was able to get some points on the drive when Cobon nailed a 37-yard field goal. That made it 34-7 with 2:36 left in the quarter.

The next Ranburne series was ended by an interception by Terrell Staples. Lanett put the ball in play on their 43 and scored on the next play. R.J. Tucker took a handoff from Broughton off the left side of the line and ran 57 yards down the home sideline to make it 40-7. Cobon’s extra point gave Lanett a 34-point lead with 38.1 seconds left in the third quarter.

Believe it or not, Lanett’s final score was by a seventh grader. P.J. Stiggers took it in from eight yards out with eight minutes to go in the game. Cobon’s seventh straight successful kick extended the lead to 48-7.

Ranburne returned the next kickoff for a touchdown to get a consolation score. That would be the final points of a 48-14 game.

It’s been an up-and-down year for Lanett. Friday’s win ended the regular season on a high note. They now have two weeks to get ready for their next game in far away Cottonwood, Alabama.