By Stan Caldwell/Sports Writer

PETAL – It all came down to one play, to win or lose.

And it was Petal that made the play, a quarterback draw from junior Caiden Belton on a two-point conversion in overtime that carried the Panthers to a thrilling 40-39 victory over Gulfport Friday night at Panther Stadium.

Petal remained undefeated for the season at 4-0, while the Admirals (2-1) lost for the first time since the Panthers won a year ago at Gulfport. The loss ended a program record 13-game win streak for the defending Class 7A state champs.

“I think just the fact that we were in the game at all, with the way that we played was a credit to our guys,” said Gulfport head coach Blake Pennock. “But give credit to Petal. They did a great job of forcing some turnovers.

“I think we had five or six turnovers, a missed extra-point, a missed field goal from 35 yards. Just as bad as you can play, we did it.”

This one had the look of two teams that may well see each other again in November, and it was a bowl of excitement from start to finish.

“Just two great teams getting after one another,” said Petal head coach Marcus Boyles. “We’re just very fortunate to come out on top. I’m extremely proud of our guys. But give Gulfport credit; they got after our guys.”

The Admirals had the advantage on the stat sheet, everywhere except turnovers, and those were killers for Gulfport. The Panthers picked off three passes and recovered two fumbles, and three of those turnovers came in the red zone.

By contrast, Petal did not turn the ball over at all.

The overtime period came after a wild fourth quarter that saw the Admirals rally from 11 points down to take an eight-point lead, only to have Petal march down the field in the final two minutes – with no time outs – to tie it up with 21.6 seconds left in regulation.

“We worked on the two-minute drills in practice,” said Belton. “I was ready for it. We weren’t going to crybaby about it, with two minutes, down a score with no time outs. We were going to get it done.”

Gulfport came into the game on the strength of two shutouts against Picayune and Laurel, but the Panthers served notice right from the start that they could move the ball on the vaunted Admiral defense.

Belton engineered a picture-perfect drive to open the game, moving Petal 82 yards on 12 plays that ate up more than half of the first-quarter clock, with senior Chavez Walker scoring on a 1-yard run.

“I thought they did a good job of getting him out of the pocket and letting us get loose there,” said Pennock. “And their tailbacks continued to run really hard. They completely out-physicaled us in the first half.

“It’s an eye-opener for us. So we just have to get back to the drawing board.”

The Panthers converted three third downs on the drive, including the touchdown.

“We came out and we knew we had to make a statement,” said Belton. “That first drive we put them back on their toes. They hadn’t been scored on the first two games, and they didn’t know what that feels like. We felt like we could move the ball and put pressure on them.

“They’ve probably got one of the best defensive lines in the state, so we knew we had to keep away from those boys by rolling out. It worked out pretty well.”

Gulfport came right back, starting in Petal territory at the Panther 45-yard-line after senior Mylan Stubbs returned a short kickoff 25 yards.

Sophomore quarterback Jackson Wolverton connected with senior Javious Hales on the first play of the possession for 28 yards, then the two hooked up again on third down with an 11-yard pass to the Petal 1.

But on the next play, the Admirals fumbled the ball at the goal line, and sophomore Tripp Lee recovered for Petal.

The ensuing drive went nowhere, and another good return, this one for 22 yards by junior Cordarious Payton on a punt set the Admirals up at the Panther 20. But on the first play, Wolverton was picked off by senior Landry Stringfellow at the 11-yard-line.

Petal drove to the Gulfport 15 before the Admirals stiffened, and the Panthers settled for a 33-yard field goal by junior Henry Haydel.

The Admirals finally got their offense going midway through the second quarter in a big way, as Wolverton connected with sophomore Syniker Taylor for a 64-yard catch-and-run over the middle.

But Petal answered with a big-play of its own, as Belton hooked up with junior Josh Crawford for a 68-yard touchdown pass.

Gulfport responded with a 10-play, 70-yard drive, with Wolverton powering in on a keeper from a yard out with 56.1 seconds remaining in the first half. But the PAT kick was no good, and that would loom large.

“I just didn’t execute like I was supposed to in the first half,” said Wolverton. “That’s on me. Second half, I just needed to calm myself down and get locked in.”

The turnover bug continued to plague Gulfport in the second half, as Peters swiped a deep ball from Wolverton at the Panther 38 and weaved his way 54 yards to the Gulfport 8-yard-line. Belton hooked up with junior Acely Brown for a 5-yard scoring play to put Petal ahead 24-13.

Peters also recovered a fumble to thwart a Gulfport drive at the Panther 11. However, a blocked punt gave Gulfport a golden opportunity, as the Admirals got the ball at the Petal 15.

But a sack by sophomore Jordan Roberts on third down stopped the drive, and the 35-yard field goal attempt was short and wide left.

Wolverton finally found his groove on the Admirals’ next possession, starting after a punt at their own 18-yard-line.

“I said there’s no 11-point touchdown, so let’s go one play at a time,” said Pennock. “With hindsight, maybe we don’t go in to score that last touchdown at the end, just take a knee and let the clock run out.”

Wolverton converted two third downs with passes to Hales of 7 and 15 yards, and capped the 13-play, 82-yard drive with a 10-yard pass to Taylor. But the conversion attempt on a flea flicker failed.

After a three-and-out, the Admirals went right back to work, driving 58 yards on just four plays, the big one a 50-yard strike from Wolverton to senior Camden Morgan, who also got the score on a 3-yard pass.

But a halfback pass for the two-point conversion failed, as Peters intercepted the pass in the end zone. Still, Gulfport took its first lead of the night 25-24.

And the Admirals still weren’t finished in the fourth quarter, stopping Petal on fourth down at their own 26, and scoring again on a six-play drive with senior Amajai Frederick scoring on a 9-yard run, and the PAT kick was good for a 32-24 lead.

For the game, Wolverton was 27 of 38 for 372 yards and four touchdowns. Morgan finished with eight catches for 119 yards, Taylor had seven receptions for 111 yards, and Hales caught eight balls for 96 yards.

“Our wide receivers are really good,” said Wolverton. “I know they’ve got my back. They made some big plays for us tonight. When I was going through a lot of adversity, they were right there, picking me up.”

Petal looked to be in trouble after a third-down pass was no good, but a defensive holding call gave the Panthers new life, and they took advantage, as Belton connected with Brown for 16 yards and Walker for 20.

A roughing the passer call gave Petal a first down at the Gulfport 12, then on third-and-11. Belton found Walker in the flat and he powered his way for a 13-yard touchdown play.

The Panthers ran a wheel route for the two-point conversion and Belton found sophomore tight end Braisen Clark wide open for the tying score.

Belton finished the night with 14 completions on 32 attempts for 246 yards and three touchdowns.

Both teams made short work of their possessions in overtime, as Wolverton connected with Stubbs for a 15-yard touchdown pass after losing five yards on a false start. The kick was good to give Gulfport a 39-32 lead.

Petal needed just two plays from Brown to cover its 10 yards, a first-down run of 9 yards, then a 1-yard plunge. Boyles never hesitated, keeping his offense on the field for a do-or-die play, and Belton powered off left guard to seal the victory.

“We felt like we needed to win the game right there,” Boyles said. “Our offensive staff came up with a great game plan, and the kids executed it perfectly.”

Gulfport is back home next week, hosting Pascagoula, then the Admirals open Region 4-7A play at home against Ocean Springs.