Panthers start off strong but lose momentum vs Falcons
By John Earp
The Loving Falcons looked good on their first drive, advancing deep into Panther territory before the defense was able to drive them back and slow their progress. The Falcons then moved forward again and had the ball on the 15 on fourth and two, but fumbled with Jal recovering the ball. Daniel Ornelas took the ball on a quarterback keeper from the Jal 20, breaking loose and advancing the ball to the Loving 23. The Panthers unfortunately were not able to advance the ball past the Loving 15-yard line, turning the ball over after failing to get a first down on fourth and one.
On their next drive, Andre Rodriguez took the ball up the middle for a big gain, putting the Panthers back within the red zone on the Loving 20. Rodriguez then was able to get another first down a couple plays later, putting the Panthers on the 10. Rodriguez then took the ball into the end zone with 28 seconds remaining in a fairly evenly matched first quarter. Point-after was unsuccessful. Jal led 6-0. On their next offensive drive, Ornelas continued to shine on quarterback keepers. With 7:08 remaining in the second quarter, he ran the ball through defenders into the end zone for Jal’s second touchdown of the game. Two-point conversion failed. Jal had begun to build a decent lead, 12-0.
The Falcon Offense began to really click near the end of the second quarter, penetrating into Panther territory. With 2:35 remaining until halftime, the Falcons had the ball on the Panther 39-yard line with 2nd and 3. A long pass completion then brought the Falcons to the 13-yard line. A 20-yard pass to number 82 was caught in the end zone, giving Loving their first touchdown, and showing that they were still very much competitive. At halftime, Jal led 12-6. With 8:09 remaining in the 3rd quarter, Loving scored their second touchdown, tying the game at 12. Two-point conversion was no good. With 2:24 remaining in the 3rd quarter, Loving scored their third touchdown, pulling ahead for the first time in the game 19-12 with a successful extra point.
The Panthers quickly answered with a pass to Andre Rodriguez, who ran the ball nearly 60 yards for a touchdown. Extra point by Rodriguez was good, tying the game up at 19 with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Falcons scored their fourth touchdown with 9:42 remaining in the game. Extra point was good. Loving led 26-19. Daniel Ornelas broke loose for an over 50-yard run on their next play, giving Jal excellent field position at the 26-yard line with just under eight minutes remaining in the game. Coby Vargas ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown with about 7 minutes remaining in the game. Extra point was unsuccessful, unfortunately. Loving led by one point 26-25 with 6:42 left in the game. With 2:44 remaining in the game, Loving scored another touchdown with a 25-yard pass completion. Extra point was no good. Falcons led 32-25.
On their next possession, with 2:23 remaining in the game, a Panther fumble resulted in turnover on the Jal 32-yard line. The Panthers fought hard to try and win in the closing seconds of the game, and were deep within Falcon territory, but unfortunately the clock ran out before they could score and possibly tie with an extra point or win with a two-point conversion. The Panthers face their archrivals, the Eunice Cardinals this Friday at home.
