JV Panther football faced a strong challenge in Thursday night’s 28-26 win over McIntosh.
“Overall as a team, we played pretty well,” JV coach Andrew Garner said. “Offense did some good things and we gave up a couple big plays. Although our backs were put up against the wall they stood up and stopped them.”
Both teams traded scoring throughout the first half. Freshman Joey Grant ran for both Starr’s Mill touchdowns as the Panthers led 14-12 at halftime.
“It was awesome,” said Grant. “It was a really good way to jump out on them.”
Scoring continued back and forth in the second half. The Panthers increased the lead to 21-12 courtesy of a rushing touchdown by Jeremiah Potter. McIntosh responded with a touchdown and successful two-point conversion to bring the score back to 21-20.
A pick-six moved the Starr’s Mill lead to 28-20. The Chiefs responded again but the two-point conversion failed.
After an interception with six minutes left in the game, McIntosh seemed poised for the comeback win until the Panthers recovered a fumble. Starr’s Mill would run out the clock, sealing the win 28-26.
“The factor to winning the game was to be relentless,” Garner said. “We do need to work on finishing blocks and other plays.”
After starting the season 0-2, the JV Panthers have won their last two games. The team looks to continue the winning streak October 12 when they host Northgate High School.