After the Cabot Panthers’ first conference win of the season against the Little Rock Southwest Gryphons, they were looking forward to going claw-to-claw with the Pulaski Academy Bruins on PA’s homecoming night.
Cabot put a dark cloud over PA’s homecoming fun as the Panthers came out on top with a score of 42-35.
The Panthers’ defense started strong, holding the Bruins to only the 40-yard line. With the ball in the Panthers’ possession, they were looking to score. However, the Bruins were able to hold the Panthers, which gave the Bruins their second possession.
The Bruins ended up giving up the ball in four downs, and the Panthers took over.
Panther Maddox McCrory was able to hit Bentley Harrell on a 75-yard touchdown pass, the first touchdown of the night. A good extra point put the Panthers up 7-0, with just 40 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Bruins started the second quarter, catapulting themselves into the Panthers’ territory. They ran the ball into the end zone for their first touchdown of the night. PA opted to try the two-point conversion, and it worked, giving them the lead 8-7.
However, the Panthers soon responded, with McCrory throwing a pass to Aeneas Arnold, who was waiting for it in the end zone. With a touchdown and an extra point, Cabot moved in front 14-8 with 4 minutes left in the second quarter.
Unfortunately, the Bruins weren’t down long as they scored their second touchdown of the night on a screen play. The Panthers blocked the extra point try, leaving the game tied at 14-all.
With only 5 seconds left on the first half clock, the Panthers went to try a 45-yard field goal. However, the kick just missed, and the first half ended with a score of 14-14.
The Panthers started the second half by running the ball into the end zone and hitting the extra point, taking the lead again, 21-14.
The Panthers kept this momentum going, with Braxton Bailey picking up a fumble after a sack play by Joey Bartlett. With a touchdown and an extra point coming from this play, the Panthers’ score changed to 28-14.
The Bruins quickly responded, however, with William Svoboda grabbing a pass in the end zone. The extra point was good, shrinking Cabot’s lead to 28-21.
With just 2 minutes left in the third quarter, the Bruins were able to run the ball downfield 35 yards to score a game-tying touchdown. With the score now 28-28, both teams held each other at a stalemate for the rest of the third quarter.
McCrory started the fourth quarter with a great sling to Ayden Tatum, who caught the ball in the end zone. With this touchdown and extra point, the Panthers were on top 35-28.
The Bruins weren’t looking for that score to stay that way forever.
The Bruins’ quarterback made a great throw downfield to score a Pulaski Academy touchdown. With a good extra point, the game was tied again, 35-35, with just 9 minutes left of play.
With a turn of events, the Bruins blocked the Panthers’ punt, giving them the advantage of having the ball back in their possession. The Bruins tried a rare field goal attempt and missed, leaving things all knotted up still..
With just 96 seconds left in the game, the Panthers scored the winning touchdown and extra point to go ahead for good, 42-35.
With just 38 seconds left in the quarter, Panther Ethan Carter was able to nab a Bruin fumble at the 38-second mark, locking in the win for Caabot.
The Panthers are now 2-2 in conference and 2-5 on the season. Friday, the Panthers will be hosting the Bryant Hornets.
