Daily Dive: Southwest DeKalb tops unbeaten Lithonia ahead of showdown with rival Tucker

The Southwest DeKalb Panthers met with rival Lithonia Thursday night at Hallford Stadium and overcame an early 7-0 deficit to score a 31-14 victory. The result moved Southwest DeKalb to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in region play and Lithonia to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in region play. Heading into the matchup, Lithonia was 5-0 for the first time since the 1998 season. Unlike the 98 campaign that saw Lithonia start the season 5-0 and then fall to 5-5 once region play begun, this year’s Bulldogs had already stacked up three region victories heading into kickoff—including a 27-20 win over rival Tucker last month. Southwest DeKalb, meanwhile was coming off a a short week after a tough 31-7 loss to Marist. That Marist loss came just one week after Southwest DeKalb defeated St. Pius 41-10—marking the first time in eight tries that the Panthers defeated St. Pius. Lithonia still has to face North Springs, St. Pius, Marist and Clarkston and this Southwest DeKalb matchup had high stakes in the overall playoff race in Region 5.

Credit goes to Southwest DeKalb as the team bounced back from its Marist loss and defeated Lithonia for the 13th-straight season and moved to 21-2 all-time. Midway through the opening quarter, Albert Gooding broke loose for a first down and the drive finished with a 2-yard touchdown run by Xavier Butler that built an early 7-0 lead for the Bulldogs. Southwest DeKalb evened up the game with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Braylon Carter to Class of 2027 Georgia Tech-commit Jordan Christie midway through the second quarter and then Carter threw his second touchdown of the game with just seconds left in the half to put Southwest DeKalb up 14-7. Taron Essex padded the lead with a 24-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter and Lithonia countered with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Jamon Coggins to Butler that brought Lithonia back within a touchdown (21-14) heading into the final quarter.

Southwest DeKalb’s Kelvin Saturday booted a clutch 40-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to grow the lead to 24-14 and then the Panthers iced the game with an interception returned for a touchdown. Southwest DeKalb will have a huge matchup next Friday night against rival Tucker and it will be a rematch of last year’s 42-35 victory over the Tigers.

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