The Magee Trojans survived a hard-fought first-round playoff battle Friday night, defeating the Quitman Panthers 23–16 to move on in postseason play.
With fair weather and dry field conditions, the two teams traded momentum throughout the night before Magee pulled ahead in the final minutes.
The game opened as a defensive struggle, with both teams battling for field position. Magee found the end zone first, but Quitman answered in the second quarter to tie the game at 7–7. Late in the half, Quitman connected on a field goal to take a 10–7 lead into the locker room.
Magee tied the game in the third quarter when kicker Brady Fairchild knocked through a field goal, but Quitman responded quickly with a rushing touchdown to regain the lead 16–10. The Panthers missed the extra point, leaving the door open for a Trojan comeback.
In the fourth quarter, Magee’s passing game came alive. Quarterback Travon Magee connected with Braeden Gregory for a touchdown to even the score at 16–16, and Fairchild’s extra point gave the Trojans their first lead since the opening quarter. With under a minute to play, Magee sealed the win with a rushing touchdown to go ahead 23–16. The extra point attempt was no good, but the Trojan defense held strong to close out the game.
Magee’s offense delivered when it mattered most. Travon Magee threw for 127 yards and a touchdown, while Gregory led all receivers with 97 yards on seven catches. Gregory also added 69 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Tyler Walker added key rushing yards to help control the clock late in the game and finished with a rushing touchdown also. On defense, Nazjai King recorded two sacks and Kaleb Williams came up with several important tackles as the Trojans contained Quitman’s running game when it mattered most. Linebacker Charston Milton led his team with 8 total tackles followed by Zyrenzo Hayes and Connor Pittman who each had 7.
With the victory, Magee improves to 7–3 on the season and advances to face Franklin County on the road next Friday night in the second round of the playoffs. The Trojans showed resilience and composure under pressure, proving they are ready to make a deeper postseason run.
The Trojans faced Franklin County during the regular season where they won convincingly, defeating the Bulldogs 46-20. The Trojans will look for a repeat performance as they prepare to punch their ticket to the third round.
