Panthers and Tigers face off in Alberton

ALBERTON – The St. Regis Tigers defeated the Alberton Panthers 50-20 last Friday, Aug. 29, in the first of only two games this season where a Mineral County team faces another.

Coming off a year where the two teams were a co-op, this year the squads faced off against their former teammates in Alberton in what was a closely contested match despite the lop-sided score at the end of the game.

Neither team jumped out to a sizeable lead in the first half. St. Regis was able to capitalize on their offensive strategy by recovering an onside kick and turning that possession into a touchdown but Alberton answered right back with a score of their own.

With six minutes left in the first quarter, St. Regis recovered another onside kick and once again, the Tigers turned the possession into a touchdown. With four minutes left in the quarter, Alberton turned the ball over on a fumble and St. Regis was again driving toward the end zone however the staunch Panther defense stopped the Tigers and they turned the ball over on downs.

Alberton was unable to answer back and the quarter ended with the score 14 -6. The Tigers started the second quarter with a quick touchdown driving the score up to 20-6 but Alberton was quick to respond scoring a touchdown of their own.

With little more than three minutes to go and the score still 20-12 in favor of St. Regis, Tiger Head Coach Rob LaBrie brought out his repertoire of trick plays calling a reverse handoff. The well timed move stopped the Panther defense in their tracks and allowed his team to run the ball in for a touchdown but the play was called back after a block to the back by a Tiger blocker.

At the end of the first half, Alberton was only down by a little more than a touchdown with the score 20-12. At halftime, LaBrie said his team was playing well and meeting the intensity the Alberton team was known for with a different type of Mineral County intensity.

“We came out with a lot of fire,” LaBrie said. “We need to tighten up our defense a little. On offense, we need to make sure we execute plays and keep it a close game.”

At the beginning of the second half with the score 20-12, the Tigers and Panthers were still neck and neck. The Tigers scored early in the third quarter but the Panthers answered right back with a touchdown of their own making the score 26-18.

With three minutes left in the third quarter, the Tigers began to pull away from the Panthers on a quick-thinking play in the end zone when a Tiger player caught a ball tipped by in the air by a Panther defensive player.

With the score 32-18, Alberton was driving down the field trying to stay in the game but the Panthers turned the ball over on a fumble.

St. Regis senior Andrew Managhan rushed for a touchdown on the ensuing drive giving the Tigers a 20 point lead late in the third quarter.

After a high snap from the Tiger center, the Panthers tackled the Tiger player who recovered the ball in the end zone for a safety and it appeared the Panthers might get back into the ball game. Led by their seniors Tyler Ishler, Jack Lehl and Alec Managhan, the team never wavered in intensity.

A Tiger drive late in the third quarter had the ball deep in Panther territory and after a play action fake, a St. Regis running back split the defense, running the ball straight up the middle for another Tiger touchdown. The third quarter ended with the score 44-20 after an even later St. Regis drive was stopped by the Panthers with seconds left on the clock.

St. Regis would get in the end zone one more time making the final score 50-20. With little more than 90 seconds to play, the Tiger quarterback took two knees in a row running out the clock and ending the game.

Panther Head Coach Nick Weller said, despite the tough loss, his team did several things well on the field that he was proud of and showed promise for the long season ahead.

“We had good hustle most of the time,” Weller said. “There were some good individual efforts. We will be working on every aspect of the fundamentals before the next game.”

LaBrie said he was also proud of the way his team performed. He said, for having so many players new to the sport as he has, his team played well against a Panther team that is known around the region for toughness.

“They played with fire,” LaBrie said. “They played fast. They executed well. They made good plays. We do need to polish some things up. Our ground game stumbled a little bit and that was a challenge we had to overcome. We play Hot Springs next week and they are really good. We have to bring our A game and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

The Next Panther match up is against Bridger at home on Sept. 5 with kick-off at 7 p.m. The St. Regis Tigers take on Hot Springs on Sept. 8 with kick-off at 4 p.m.