It was a chilly evening in the Panther Stadium and fans from both teams could be heard for miles during the intense and aggressive game with Bryant ending the night the victor, 35-17.
The Panthers and Hornets fought back and forth on the field making the first quarter a nail biter for the fans in the stadium watching.
With 4:14 left on the clock, Dean Heyer kicked a three-point field goal, giving the Cabot Panthers a first quarter lead.
Bryant scored two touchdowns during the second quarter and Cabot fans were on the edge of their seats waiting for the Panthers to strike back.
There were 8:00 on the clock when Jordan Walker threw the ball halfway down the field to Shawn Rycraw, who then ran a fourth of the field into the end zone giving Bryant their first touchdown of the game and the second quarter. Cook kicked the extra point, it was good, making the score, 7-3.
Four minutes later, Walker threw the ball to Rycraw who was in the end zone giving the Hornets their second touchdown of the second quarter. Cook kicked the extra point, and the Hornets increased their lead to 14-3.
Seven minutes remained on the clock during the third quarter when Charlie Powell handed off the ball to Keegan Vest, who then ran into the end zone securing Cabot’s first touchdown of the game. Panther fans were celebrating while Cabot was making good on the extra point. The Panthers were just four points behind, 14-10.
While there was five minutes left on the third-quarter clock, Walker handed the ball off to James Martin who ran halfway down the field into the end zone, giving the Hornets another touchdown. Cook kicked an extra point putting the Hornets in the lead to stay, 21-10.
With two minutes and forty-nine seconds left in the third quarter, Powell handed the ball to Hayes Cox and then rolled his way through the Hornets defense into the end zone. Heyer kicked the extra point, moving the Panthers back to just four behind, 21-17.
The Hornets were back at it at the start of the fourth quarter as Walker handed the ball to Martin, who went three quarters down the field, outrunning Cabot’s defense and into the end zone for the first touchdown for the fourth quarter. Cook kicked an extra point, expanding the lead for the Hornets with the score of, 28-17.
For Cabot to take the lead, they would need two more touchdowns, but time was running out.
However, it was the Hornets scoring again. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Walker decided to push through the Panthers defense into the end zone. The extra point was safely kicked by Cook and Bryant took the victory with a final score of 35-17.
