by Allen Hamrick
It was a tough outing for the Clay County High School Panthers Friday night, as they took on the Eagles of Braxton. It was to be a tough matchup with most of the Braxton team returning from last season. The Eagles were on the board quick, scoring on their first possession, and it looked like it was going to be a long night for the Panthers.
However, the Panthers had other ideas. On their first possession of the ball, the Panthers took it down the field as if taking candy from a baby. They drove down to the Braxton four yard line with an opportunity to score, and the Eagle defense was scratching their heads. With four downs to spend the Panthers went to work, and so did the Eagles. It was two teams, two wills and a ton of intensity four yards from an end zone.
After three downs, the Panthers had gained a little Eagle real estate. Going for it on fourth and goal, it was as if the attempt took forever to play out. All eyes were on the players piled up at the goal line, and when it was cleared up, the Panthers ended up just short and gave up the ball on downs. The defense hit the field and was out to show what they could do against the Eagle offense. The Eagles had a tough time advancing the ball out of their own end zone, and after a holding call against the Eagles in the end zone, the Panthers were awarded two points for the safety. At the half it was the Panthers 2, Eagles 14.
The second half began with the Eagles kicking off to the Panthers. The offense took to the field, and on the second play, were picked off by the Eagles who ran it in for a touchdown. This took a little wind out of the sails for the Panthers, but they did not give up until the last play of the game. The offense tried working the run up the middle the second half and occasionally around the end but nothing seemed to work – the holes just weren’t there to get through.
The final score of the game stood at Clay 2, Braxton 28. With that being said, I believe the Panthers did a great job defensively holding a team like the Eagles to just 28 points. The Eagles had a lot of tricks up their sleeves offensively, and the Panther defense did a good job of containing them regardless of the score. The coaches will have to work out bugs before next week as the Greyhounds of Valley Fayette come to town.
When two good teams like the Panthers and the Eagles meet, who the winner is is determined by who makes the least mistakes and then capitalizes on their opponent’s mistakes. The Panthers will get it all sorted out; it is still early in the season and they have plenty of opportunities left.
Get out and enjoy the game this week and support the CCHS Panthers.
