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September 19, 2009

Panthers crash through Tiger defense

By Nathan Straus

nstraus@jacksonvilleprogress.com



Friday night saw the Panthers strive toward a hard-fought victory in Bullard's home game win against the Troup Tigers. The final score, 43-40 - almost literally came down to the wire.

First quarter play started slow before picking up with a first touchdown by Troup just after the 6:30 mark. This first touchdown was made by Tigers Quarterback Tyler Davis. The field goal attempt was unsuccessful, one of the few kicking shots made by Troup throughout the game.

Bullard turned around and showed the Tigers how a fast touchdown was done shortly after, with Senior Daniel Howard bolting through the Troup line like a speeding bullet to score a touchdown on a 65-yard run just past the 6:00 point, less than 30 seconds after Troup's goal. Junior Kicker Santiago Escobar made a successful field goal as well, putting the score at 7-6

It was tough going for both teams for the rest of the first quarter, both sides having their fair share of close shaves and minor victories.

The Panthers opened the second quarter with touchdown number two, a 55-yard run by Howard after a successful fumble recovery. A successful field goal attempt put the score at 14-6 and widened the gap.

Tiger offense quickly pounced back into the game with a touchdown at 8:39, further surprising the defense by carrying the ball into the end zone for a two point bonus and tying the score at 14.

High school football doesn't get much more intense than the teams' second quarter game; the Panthers took the initiative and a complete pass was thrown to Hunter Skelton, junior receiver, to give the Panthers a little breathing room at the 7:20 mark. Escobar kicked his third successful field goal of the game to put the team further ahead at 21-14.

Second quarter being far from over, Troup came back with a touchdown with six minutes left in the quarter, though the repeated attempt at an end zone bonus didn't meet with the same success as last time.

Panther and Tiger offensive lines both fought their way up the field once more each, the Panthers sticking to their tried and true method of safe field goals and the Tigers making another failed attempt at an end zone pass.

The Troup offensive started to pull ahead in the third quarter with a hard-won touchdown at 6:04. Again, the Panthers defense blocked a try at that two-point add-on. The score stood at 28-32 until Troup made a second touchdown near the end of the quarter, taking advantage of a string of penalties on the Panther side of the field. This time the end zone shot went through, leaving the score going into the fourth at 28-40.

A tough road ahead of them, the Panthers buckled down and started to close the gap less than one minute into the final quarter. Senior Receiver Brandon Beavers caught a pass and, following a successful field goal, put the score at a narrow 35-40.

Both sides struggled to make it to the end, the Panthers trying to take the lead back and the Tigers aiming to cement their own. At 3:14 Senior Quarterback Marquez Franklin pulled a fast play and made it to the goal to give the Panthers the narrowest of leads. Taking a cue from the Tigers, Bullard brought the ball in for an extra two points to put the score at 43-40.

Bullard defense poured everything they had into stopping the Tigers during the last minutes of the game, and it paid off. With the Tigers unable to push the ball through, the home game went to the Panthers.

Bullard, after just missing out on their first win last week at Athens — the Hornets won 14-7 — improves to 1-2 on the year and will welcome Rusk (2-2) into Panther Stadium Friday. The game will serve as the Panthers’ homecoming. Troup (1-3) journeys to Hughes Springs on Friday. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.

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