The Gold Beach Panther varsity football team and head coach Chris Higgins ran into an undefeated Days Creek/Riddle Wolves football team boasting 10 seniors and 9 players over 6ft. tall.
The Wolves took full advantage of their size and controlled the line of scrimmage establishing their running game early and opening up their passing game as the Panthers were forced to crowd the line to stop the Wolves running game.
running back Josh Rodriquez #33.
Defensively the Panthers were solid, making tackles and getting into the Days Creek/Riddle backfield, disrupting plays and holding the Wolves for much of the game, only to suffer from a few big Wolves plays that put the contest out of reach as the Panthers struggled to make a first down.
The Panthers had excellent individual performances throughout the game, however, the size of the Wolves proved to be too much to overcome, as the Panthers offense scored in the waning moments of the fourth period putting themselves on the scoreboard after a quarterback sweep to the right side.
The Wild Coast Compass caught up with head coach Chris Higgins after the game, and he told the Compass.., “We definitely had a tough game tonight, we played a fundamentally sound team with the experience of 10 seniors” he said. “One positive about tonight is my young team never gave up and our mental toughness keeps growing, which is great for our Panther football future. We’re taking this season one week at a time,” he went on to say, “and we just need to keep preparing these kids day in and day out for battle. Losing 6-44 is never fun, so my staff and I will find a way to keep this group positive and confident for next week.”
The Panthers will be on the road for the remainder of the season, traveling to Camas Valley next Friday, April 2nd, to take on the Camas Valley Hornets.
