By Allen Hamrick
This past Friday, it was opening night for the Panther football team as they took their show on the road to Roane County to take on Midland Trail for their season “home” opener. With the million-dollar football field in its final phase of construction, Roane County allowed the Panthers to take the field on their own Raider real estate. This was also a good opportunity for the Raider coaches to see live and in person the 2025 Panther team
. Clay’s new field is supposed to be finished by mid-September, and the official champagne bottle will be busted. As it stands now, September 19 will be the date of the Panthers’ next home game against Sissonville IF the field is indeed ready. So, break out the caviar and finger foods for your tailgate parties; hamburgers and hot dogs are for grass fields, baby, and the Panthers are stepping into the future mid-September.
The air was cool and crisp, a perfect night for football as the Panthers rolled onto the field looking to repeat last year’s 28-7 win against the Patriots. The Patriots came out with a more than full team with blood in their eyes. The Panthers got the ball first, and with some excellent running by Brody Scarbro, the Panthers were moving down the field. New QB Cooper Collins, brother of the award-winning Panther QB Noah Collins, took to the field as leader of the pack. This was his first game as a Panther starter, and although there were some glitches in some plays, he did a respectable job for his first time at the helm. However, the Panthers had a challenging time getting the ball down field and in scoring position.
The Patriots scored early in the first quarter with a kind of bait and switch play after the Panthers defense was holding them at the line. This fired up the Patriots, and they did not look back as the Panther defense couldn’t get dialed in on their offense. At the half, it was the Patriots with a small lead 0-7. In the third quarter, the Patriots came out swinging again with a combination of passes and long runs. The Panthers got their game on and scored a TD of their own but missed the extra point. The score stood at 6-20 at the end of the third. In the fourth, the Panthers made a run for the endzone and scored another seven points but could not match the 21 racked up by the Patriots.
Final score was Panthers 13, Patriots 41. The Panthers’ next game is at Buffalo, and with this loss under their belt, they can now get to the business of winning. Go Panthers!
