Two evenly matched teams lined up against each other in Gold Beach Thursday night as the Glendale Pirates traveled to Gold Beach to take on the Panthers.
The Panthers won the coin toss and deferred possession to the Pirates who immediately tried to establish their running game, but the Panthers were prepared, controlling the line of scrimmage, and refusing to be beat to the outside. Both teams played power football in the opening minutes of the game, until Gold Beach senior running back #33 Josh Rodriquez put the ball in the end zone with just over 2:30 left in the first quarter.
The touchdown put the Panthers up 6-0, but the Pirates would put together a sustained drive, put the ball in the end-zone and convert the 2 point conversion to take the lead with seconds left in the first quarter making the score 6-8.
At the 9:00 minute mark, Josh Rodriquez #33 again broke off a big run, overpowering the Pirate right up the middle, and the Panthers led 14-0. The Panthers controlled the game at this point of the 2nd quarter, and after shutting down the Pirates and getting the ball back, Gold Beach quarterback junior Trenton Storns #13 connected on a long 28 yard pass play to Jake Westerman #7, extending Gold Beach’s lead to 20-8 with 5:30 left in the first half of play.
Again, the Pirates would answer, driving down the field and scoring after a 12 yard pass into the end-zone, drawing closer to the Panthers 20-14 as time expired in the first half.
After the break, the Panthers received the ball to start the second half of play, only to fumble and turn the ball over on the first play from scrimmage. But as both teams struggled for control early in the half, Gold Beach would intercept a Pirate pass ending a Glendale drive off of the earlier Panther turnover.
However, after both teams made defensive adjustments at the half, the defenses were much tougher to fool, and the Panthers would be forced to punt. After a soaring 35 yard punt, the Pirate receiver beat the Panthers to edge and outran the Gold Beach punt team 70 yards for a Pirate touchdown, putting Glendale up 20-22 after the 2 point conversion.
Both teams again, toughened up on defense, each holding the other to short yardage with mistakes, penalties and turnovers. Until, Gold Beach quarterback Trenton Storns #13 dropped into the pocket, and again connected with freshman #7 Jake Westerman, on a deep out pattern to the back of the end-zone. After the 2 point conversion, the Panthers led 28-22 and would hold on to secure their first win of the 2021 season.
Talking with Panthers head coach Chris Higgins after the game, he told the Compass…”Tonight was a huge game for our young squad. Building the confidence in them that they can go out and compete and pull out a Win at the end is huge for us.” he said. “It’s half the battle of coaching.” he went on to say. “The other half is our staff putting them in the position to compete late in the game. Tonight all of those things happened for our squad and it was a full team victory. I couldn’t be more proud of this team and my staff.”
The Panthers will take on the currently 1-0 Days Creek/Riddle Wolves next Friday.
