Junior High Football loses to Eunice

By John Earp

This past Monday afternoon, in Panther Stadium, the Jal Junior High School Football Team squared up against the Eunice Junior High School team. The Cardinals ran the ball in for a touchdown on their first offensive play of the game, easily outrunning the Panther Defense. Zaine Vega ran the ball for a first down on the Cardinals’ 36-yard line, giving the Panthers great field position on their first drive. Unfortunately, the promising drive stalled with incomplete passes and a penalty and the Panthers had to punt on 4th and 28. The Cardinals put the ball in the end zone in three plays on their next drive. With 4:34 remaining in the first quarter, Eunice led 13-0. Arian Lujan caught a pass and ran the ball down to the 10-yard line for a first down with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. The Panthers then got their first touchdown with a three-yard run. At halftime, the Cardinals led the Panthers 26-6. David Hernandez ran the ball into the end zone from the 4-yard line with 3:42 remaining in the third quarter. Two-point conversion was unsuccessful. Eunice led 26-12. The second half of the game continued along the same basic lines as the first half, though Eunice scored 14 points to Jal’s 2 in the second half. The final score was 40-14. Eunice Junior High has definitely got a talented and well-coached team. The Panthers have shown a lot of promise as well, but definitely need to step things up both offensively and defensively.