PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- When Elliot Nolan's 23-yard field goal split the uprights on the game's last play, the Hancock Hawk's had secured their ninth win of the season as they headed into the postseason next week. The Hawks were expected to win against the Pascagoula Panthers, who were playing the final game of a disappointing 3-8 season. But the Panthers made the Hawks work for it before losing 18-15 on Nolan's kick. "They wanted to go out on their own terms," said Panther head coach Lewis Sims, "and their terms were they were going to play hard every second of every minute of every quarter of this game. There were 48 minutes to go out the way they wanted. "Sure, we'd have loved to have the W, but there was no question our kids played for 48 minutes, whistle to whistle, and left everything they had on the field. As a coach, you can't be more proud than that." Trailing the region's number two team 15-8 as the fourth quarter began, Pascagoula put together perhaps its finest drive of the season, marching 80 yards in 15 plays to tie the game. Dalvin Abney carried the ball on 13 of those 15 plays and gained 65 yards before Jonas Burley finished the drive with a 1-yard run. The only trouble with the Panthers' impressive drive is that it ended with nearly six minutes still remaining in the game. Hancock took possession after the kickoff and marched to the Pascagoula six before calling a timeout and bringing on Nolan for the game-winning kick. The Hawks were, ironically, aided by their own penalties on the drive, which allowed them to run more plays and thus kill more of the clock and forcing the Panthers to use all of their timeouts. Other than the field goal, Marquis Cherry did all of Hancock's scoring, with a 1-yard touchdown run in the first half and another 1-yard plunge in the second half, followed by a two-yard conversion run. Jared Johnson scored Pascagoula's first points on a safety when he sacked Hancock's Caleb Garcia in the end zone. Pascagoula's other score came on a 20-yard pass from Jonas Burley to Adam Panni. Pascagoula, as mentioned, finished the season 3-8 overall, 1-6 in Region 4-6A. Hancock, now 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the region, will open the 6A playoffs at home against Brandon.