Alberton Panthers take Tigers

The Alberton Panthers came out on top in a face-off on Tiger territory Wednesday evening.

“Our game went really well, I thought a lot of kids did really well and stepped up to do what they needed to do,” said Panthers Head Coach Jake Giffin.

Wednesday night was homecoming for the Tigers, and they put forth a valiant effort, but it was no match for the Panthers who had a larger team and bigger players.

“We threw the ball pretty well,” said Tigers Head Coach Dan Noonan.

The Panthers got an early lead in the first quarter of the game, with senior Blaine Myrstol running in a touchdown. Freshman Cody Ishler threw a pass to junior Zach Brown for a two-point conversion after the touchdown and the Panthers took an early 8 to 0 lead.

Despite a well played interception by Tiger Thomas Spencer, the Panthers managed to score the next touchdown as well. With less than 5 minutes left in the first quarter, Ishler connected with freshman Jake Thompson for both a touchdown and the two-point conversion after the play, bringing the Panthers lead to 16 to 0.

On one of the Tigers' first offensive plays after the Panther touchdown, Tiger Patrick Quinlivan was removed from the game for having metal on the bottom of his cleats. Noonan rushed him off to the locker rooms in search of another pair of cleats as the rest of the team tried to continue their push down the field without their senior quarterback.

Quinlivan returned to the game just in time for a dramatic left breaking run to the end zone, landing the Tigers their first touchdown of the game. The Tigers could not manage to push through the Panthers defense for their two-point conversion attempt and the score at the end of the first quarter stood at 16 to 6.

Myrstol again showed his grit in the second quarter, running in two touchdowns and two two-point conversions while the Panther's defense held the Tigers at bay for the entire quarter. Despite several close calls for the Tigers, they did not manage to score and at halftime the score was 32 to 6.

In the beginning of the third quarter Myrstol pushed in yet another touchdown and two-point conversion, bringing the Panthers lead to 40 to 6.

Tiger Willy Roper proved that the Tigers were not going down without a fight when he snagged an interception from the Panthers and ran 71 yards in for another Tigers touchdown. They failed in their attempt for a two-point conversion and the score stood at 40 to 12.

The Panthers stepped up their game once again, with Thompson pushing in another Panthers touchdown with less than 5 minutes to go in the quarter. The Tigers stopped their two-point conversion attempt and held the Panthers to a 46 to 12 lead.

After a fumble recovery from freshman Rayden Williamson, the Tigers forced their way through the Panthers defense to the 3-yard line, where Spencer pushed through for a touchdown. The Tigers could not manage any points after the touchdown leaving the score at 46 to 18 with less than a minute and a half to go in the quarter.

The Panthers answered the Tigers with another touchdown from junior Drew Clark and ran in another two-point conversion to finish out an eventful third quarter ahead 54 to 18.

In the fourth quarter the Tiger's defense stepped up and held the Panthers scoreless for the entire quarter. With less than a minute to go in the final quarter of the game, Tiger senior Cody Roper caught a touchdown pass from Quinlivan and sophomore Tim Cranley caught a two-point conversion pass. The end score left the Panthers in the lead 54 to 26.

“We didn't lay down, which I am very happy about,” said Noonan.

This was the Panthers first victory for the season and Giffin said that the team is really coming together.

“There was a lot excitement tonight, the kids played hard,” Giffin said. “I thought it was excellent.”