The Cabot Panthers traveled to Little Rock Christian to battle it out against the Warriors in their fourth game of the season. The Panthers were sporting a three-game losing streak, but Cabot was hoping to come out victorious.
Though the Panthers put up a good fight, the Warriors still came out on top, beating the Panthers 56-31 and keeping Cabot’s losing streak alive.
The Warriors won the coin toss, they were looking to score early. The Warriors were able to throw the ball 35 yards into the arms of Warrior Tristan Watson for their first touchdown of the game. With a good extra point, LRCA was up 7-0.
The Panthers tried to respond as Cooper Powell ran 33 yards to get them into Warrior territory. However, this momentum was soon squandered, with Warrior Gabe Shrouder intercepting the ball at the 20-yard line. The Panthers’ defense was able to shut down the Warriors from scoring.
Both teams held each other to a stalemate for the rest of the first quarter, with the score staying at 7-0 with the Warriors in the lead.
With the ball in the Panthers’ possession, Cabot was able to move the ball downfield to start the second quarter. However, the Warriors’ defense held them, and the Panthers had to make a field goal instead. A good kick made it 7-3.
The Warriors responded with a run into the endzone after a long break between coaches and officials, changing the scoreboard to 14-3 Warriors.
Panther Maddox McCrory threw the ball to Panther Ayden Tatum in the next play, who made an outstanding catch to catapult the Panthers into Warrior territory. Tatum fed off his own momentum, grabbing a pass in the endzone to give the Panthers their first touchdown of the night. With a good PAT, Cabot moved to within four, 14-10.
The Warriors responded by throwing downfield with yet another catch in the endzone, moving ahead 21-10.
The Warriors capitalized on this newfound momentum with Shrouder catching the ball in the endzone with a minute left in the quarter. The kick was made, and the score was up 28-10.
At the beginning of the third quarter, LRCA tossed another pass into the Panthers’ endzone, giving the Warriors the first touchdown of the third quarter and extending their lead to 35-10.
However, Panther Aeneas Arnold was able to run the ball into the endzone, making an outstanding play. Much to the Panthers’ demise, a flag was thrown on the play, causing the Panthers to go back to their starting position with no touchdown.
The Warriors’ defense was able to hold the Panthers, and they soon responded with another catch in the endzone. With that touchdown and extra point on the board for the Warriors, the score was updated to 42-10.
The Panthers hadn’t given up, with McCrory passing the ball downfield to Arnold to score the second touchdown of the night for the Panthers. The extra point was good, and the Panthers’ score was updated to 17.
The Warriors soon answered, running the ball into the endzone to score another touchdown. With the kick being good, the score was changed to 49-17.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Powell was able to run the ball in from the one-yard line, giving the Panthers 7 more points to add to their score.
Even though the Panthers were able to keep their score alive, it wasn’t enough to stall the Warriors. With eight minutes left in the quarter, the Warriors were able to pass the ball into the endzone with an extra point being good, boosting the score to 56-24 with the Warriors still in the lead.
The Panthers were to clap back, however, with Arnold receiving the ball in the endzone. With the field goal being made, the score was updated to 56-31.
Both the Warriors and the Panthers were held at a stalemate for the rest of the game. The end score was 56-31 with the Warriors coming out on top to beat the Panthers in their conference opener. The Panthers are now 0-4 on the season.
Next week, the Panthers will face off against the Little Rock Southwest Gryphons for Cabot High School’s homecoming game.
