There is no more ‘under the radar’ or ‘sneaking up’ on opponents for the Gold Beach Panther football team, teams know the class of the league is on the agenda when the Panthers are next on their schedule, and Friday nights road trip to Cave Junction for the Panthers was an excellent example.
Coach Higgins and his undefeated, 4-0 Panther football team made the trip to Cave Junction Friday evening to challenge the Illinois Valley Cougars, and the 1-4 Cougars showed that preparation on the opponents side, combined with a lapse in focus by Gold Beach, could quickly undo what has been a perfect season so far.
The Cougars came out ready to prove they would not be intimidated by the powerful Panther team, and with a well prepared initial attack would take their initial possession and drive inside the red zone, ultimately starting the scoring after hitting a 9 yard pass to take a 7-0 lead early in the first period of play.
Gold Beach would rise to the occasion and take their opening drive down to the Illinois Valley 24 yard line. Junior quarterback Jake Westerman, #7, would drop back and hit junior #5, Tanner Wright, on a deep out pattern at the front corner of the endzone for a Gold Beach touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt would fail, and the Panthers would trail 6-7.
Illinois Valley would put together another sustained drive, moving the ball to the Panther 26 before the Cougar quarterback hit a receiver on a fly route deep in the end zone, giving the Cougars a 14-6 lead to end the first quarter.
The Panthers would again answer, driving down to the 16 before Westerman called his own number and fought his way to the goal line, scoring a touchdown that would tie the score after converting the 2 point conversion.
A Panther pooch kick on the ensuing kick-off would find its way deep to the Cougar kick returner, who would take the ball and return it 60 yards right up the middle of the field for another Illinois Valley touchdown, immediately returning the 21-14 lead to the Cougars.
Like heavy weight fight, the two teams traded blows in a battle to take control of the game. After making their way down to the 19 yard line, junior Zane Gibson, #9, made the pass to Jake Westerman, making the score 21-22.
But big plays were what kept the Cougars in the game, and Illinois Valley would produce another big play to answer the Panthers. The Cougar quarterback would take the snap and be flushed out of the pocket by the Panther rush before hitting another long touchdown pass for 41 yards down the sideline to take another Cougar lead late in the second period.
Now trailing late in the first half 29-22, the Panthers refused to go into the locker room at half-time trailing for the first time this season, and sustained a ball control drive down to the Illinois Valley 9 yard line and punch the ball into the endzone, taking a 29-30 lead at the break.
Both teams continued to trade shots in the third, with Illinois Valley scoring first in the third period on another 18 yard pass play to take a 35-30 lead after the 2 point conversion attempt failed. The Panthers would answer with a 6 yard touchdown run for Tanner Wright, #5, his second touchdown of the game and a 35-38 lead after the two-point conversion.
The Panthers would turn the game, pinning the Cougars deep in their own end. The Gold Beach defense had been in the Cougar backfield the whole game, and the pressure of being backed up to their own goal line forced an Illinois Valley bad snap and junior #82, Zane Gray fell on the quarterback to secure the safety and two points making the score, 35-40, Panthers.
Gold Beach would put the game away in the fourth, scoring three more times before time expired to take the 41-64 win.
“Illinois Valley came out of the gate and punched us right in the mouth from the start of the game,” coach Higgins said after the game. “We seem to have had many distractions throughout the week and I feel we were lacking the focus we usually have before games. However we faced adversity early and after halftime were able to respond and get back into our game. The boys know from here on out the games will be much tougher,” he continued, “and focus is the #1 key to winning these big games. We were down some starters and Tanner Wright and Zane Gibson both had big games to help us overcome Illinois Valley.
The now 5-0 Panthers will host a powerful 5-0 Oakland Oakers team who are coming off a 54-6 win over North Douglas, and have amassed 266 points of offense in 5 games while allowing only 54 points defensively, this Friday evening at Panther Stadium with kick-off at 7:00pm.
