By Allen Hamrick
It was a tough outing for the CCHS Panthers Friday night as they took on the Raiders of Roane County. Roane County still had a buzz on after taking their game to the state championship against Frankfurt last year. Last season the Panthers took the Raiders to their limits in what would prove to be one of the best games ever played on the old grass field. It was to be a tough matchup with the Panthers losing key players and Roane doing the same, so the game would be a toss-up.
The Raiders wanted to make a statement and were on the board quickly with fourteen points in the first quarter, making the game look like it was going to be a long night for the Panthers. However, Cooper Collins found Jakoby Nichols in the flat and after shaking a Raider, Jakoby went “ALL THE WAY,” and brought the game to 7-14 Raiders. The game slowed down a bit with both defenses stepping up before the Raiders added another TD prior to the half making the score 7-21. Before the bands started playing their halftime tunes, the Raiders capitalized on a botched punt attempt and as the ball squirted around the end zone, the Raiders fell on it and scored again. So, at the half it was Panthers 7 Raiders 35.
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 in the second half but was unable to get much going against the Raiders. The Raiders continued to add salt to the wound, adding another 14 points before the final whistle.
The Panther defense did a respectable job not allowing this game to go into a special page in the history books. When the lights went out, the final score stood at Panther 14- Raiders 49. It was a tough game to be sure, but the Panthers held on against the Raiders; with some tightening up on offense they will be hard to beat. When two good teams like the Panthers and the Raiders meet, the winner is determined by who makes the least mistakes and then capitalizes on their opponent’s mistakes. There were some questionable calls, but there will always be in any high-pressure game like this rivalry.
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.
