By Allen Hamrick
It was ground and pound night for the Panthers on Friday as they butted heads with the tough South Harrison Hawks. South Harrison was ranked ninth in the state in the WV Metro News poll, and the Panthers took them to the woodshed. The Panthers started their ground and pound pile driving style football after the Hawks got on the boards. There would be no more handing out the dinner plates for the Panthers; the Hawks had to earn every inch of Panther field. The Hawks have never been handled as they were on Friday night when their usual running game was shut down and shut down hard. The Panther defense was in full beast mode as they were able to cause chaos on the Hawks offense on different occasions and cause the ball back to be turned over to the Panthers. The Panthers took a minute on offense to get their heads in the game, but once they did, they went to work and got the job done in a big way. They were so fast that the Hawks were flat footed most of the time.
Jakoby Nichols and Joel Elliott are a deadly combination as receivers. Both have the ability to freeze defenders in their tracks. The Panthers ground and passing game, combined with superb blocking from the front line, took the game to the next level, and the Hawks just couldn’t get past the shock as to just how good the Panthers really were. The Hawks were the first on the boards with eight quick points early in the game, but Panther offense came right back with a TD of their own as Jakoby Nichols took the first one in on a short pass from QB Collins. After that Kohan Ramsy intercepted the ball and the Panthers had it. The game went back and forth until the ball was given to #33 Brody Scarbro. Scarbro doesn’t just run; he stomps on everybody in his path to score.
The Hawks answered with another TD and that would be it for them as the Panther defense shut them down. On the ensuing kickoff, there was no stopping Jakoby Nichols as he hauled the pig to the pen, scoring yet another TD for the Panthers. The Panthers led the game 22-16 at the half as the “old guys” from the 2000 football team were announced. It was announced that in the 102 years of Clay Panther football history, the 2000 team was the only undefeated team. The former players came on the field with families and were heralded with cheers from the crowd. The second half started, and it was all Panthers as they rolled to a win; the Hawks were devastated. It was the best I have seen the Panthers play all season. The game was well coached and well played. The final score was Panthers 37, Hawks 16.
Next week, the Panthers will face the Logan Wildcats on their turf, and this will be a cat fight, for sure. The Panthers can definitely come out with their fur intact if they continue to play like they did on this night. Logan had better be prepared.
