Coming off their bye week, the varsity football team ventured north to take on the Gaither High School Cowboys Friday, Sept. 21. Even with a muddy field and players slipping all over the field, it was an offensive shootout from the start that ended in a 44-34 victory for the Panthers. 

“It was a great win,” junior quarterback Tucker Gleason said. “I mean it was a little closer than we wanted it to be, but a win is a win.” 

Just 25 seconds into the game, Gleason went deep and connected with senior wide receiver Leonard Parker for a 55-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was good, and the score was 8-0 with 11 minutes and 35 seconds left in the first quarter. 

“It hyped the whole team up the rest of the game, and the whole entire first half we just came out and did what we had to do,” senior wide receiver Leonard Parker said.  

After forcing a Gaither punt, Gleason hit Parker again in the endzone on a 39-yard pass, their second touchdown connection of the night. After a failed two-point conversion, Gaither got the ball back down 14-0. 

“Leo at times can be spectacular and just take a game over,” head coach Robert Weiner said. “We want him to be consistent in being able to do that because he has the skills to be able to do that. We saw flashes of what that was on Friday night.” 

With one minute and 38 seconds left in the first quarter, Gaither scored on a 44-yard screen pass, making the score 14-7. To start the second quarter the Panthers came out and put a drive together that resulted in a 11-yard touchdown run by Gleason. The extra point by sophomore Baldwin Barnes was good, extending the lead 21-7. 

“Tucker’s talents continue to grow,” Weiner said. “He’s really young in terms of being a varsity quarterback, but every week we see different things from him.” 

With seven minutes and 38 seconds left in the half, the Panthers were set up inside the 10-yard line following a 43-yard run by senior running back Walter Wilbon III. Then from three yards back, Wilbon III punched it in for six. The extra point by Barnes was good, making the score 28-7.                    

“I don’t know if in the time that we’ve had him he’s showed more of a combination of the great attributes that he has a running back than he has on Friday night,” Weiner said. “I mean he’s a one-cut downhill runner, which he was on Friday night.” 

On the following drive Gaither scored on a 77-yard pass, cutting Plant’s lead to two touchdowns. However, with just 27 seconds remaining before halftime, Gleason connected with Parker in the endzone for the third time of the night. The 27-yard pass put them up 35-14 heading into halftime. 

“That combination was pretty deadly,” Weiner said. “That’s one we’ll keep going to because those two guys can get it done.” 

Coming out of the half the Cowboys scored once again, cutting the lead to two touchdowns. With the score at 35-21, Wilbon III broke loose on an 84-yard run and ended up in the endzone. The extra point was knocked in by Barnes and the lead was pushed to 42-21 with 6 minutes and 21 seconds left in the third. 

“He’s a power back that can break every tackle and he showed speed on Friday night that we haven’t really seen like that that before,” Weiner said. “He also has great cutting ability in the open field because he runs with such leverage, and most importantly he’s a great finisher. If you’re trying to tackle him, he is still trying to grind out yardage at the end.”  

No more scoring occurred at the end of the third quarter, but to start the fourth, Gaither scored, making it 42-28. The Panthers were forced to punt on the following drive, but when the Cowboys got the ball back, junior safety Alex Munson tackled the quarterback in the endzone, resulting in a safety which tacked on two more points.  

““Alex [Munson] has really come a long way for us,” Weiner said. “The safety was just kind of a culmination of how he’s played which has earned him more playing time, but he also made other plays last night as well, so he’s done a really good job.” 

The Cowboys failed onside kick gave the Panthers the ball back, but after a turnover on downs, Gaither scored on a keeper, making it 44-34. The two-point conversion was no good, putting the game out of reach for the Cowboys. The onside kick was recovered by Plant, but with 45 seconds left in the game the clock expired, and the Panthers won their third game of the season. 

The varsity football team will head to Sickles High school where they will faceoff at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28.