VIDALIA — Vidalia hung tough with a good Buckeye team for one half, but the Panthers scored two touchdowns in the third quarter as they defeated the Vikings 35-8 Friday night in the teams’ LHSAA District 3-3A finale.

“My kids came out played hard. They played hard for the seniors,” Vidalia head coach Gary Parnham Jr. said. “The seniors played hard. We missed out on some opportunities to score in the first half.”

Buckeye led Vidalia 14-8 at the end of the first quarter, but both teams couldn’t find the end zone in the second quarter. That left the Panthers holding on to their six-point lead at halftime. Any thoughts of an upset came to an end when the Panthers scored 15 points in the third quarter and another six points in the fourth.

“They’re not the district champions for nothing. They wore us down in the second half,” Parnham said. “We had a bunch of penalties called on us. But that’s no excuse. They just wore us down.”

Vidalia finished the season at 1-9 overall and 0-5 in district play.