Panthers squeak out a win vs Tularosa
By John Earp
Last Friday night in Panther Stadium, the Jal High Varsity Football Team (2-0), defending 2A state champs, ranked #2, played what turned out to be an incredibly close game, almost losing in the final minutes against the #5 ranked Tularosa Wildcats (1-1).
The Panthers looked strong in their first offensive drive, but came up short of the goal on fourth and goal on the 2-yard line. On the Tularosa Wildcats’ first play, what appeared to be a safety ended up being ruled a tackle on the 1-yard line, with the ball being placed only inches from the goal. The Panther Defense shut down the Wildcats in their first drive, resulting in a punt from the end zone. The Panthers took over possession on the Tularosa 48-yard line. The Panthers proceeded to move down the field with quarterback Nolbert Cervantes doing most of the running. With 4 minutes left in the first quarter, Cervantes kept the ball for a gain of a couple, down to the 2-yard line. This was followed on the next play with Cervantes running the ball through defenders on in for the first touchdown of the game with 3:15 remaining in the first. Point after by Andre Rodriguez was good.
The Wildcats were more effective, especially with their passing game, on the ensuing offensive drive, penetrating to the Panther 19-yard line with 1:39 remaining. Ito Arroyo intercepted a Wildcat pass in the end zone, running it back to the Panther 19, which unfortunately was brought back to the 5 on a penalty. In the closing seconds of the first quarter, the Panthers had a first and 10 on their 20.
The Panther Offense was stymied by the Wildcats at the beginning of the 2nd quarter, resulting in a punt from the 23-yard line by Daniel Ornelas on 4th down. The punt was very good with a Panther bounce, resulting in the Wildcats taking possession on their 24. The Panthers recovered a Wildcat fumble on their first play, taking possession on the 23. Despite this quite fortunate turn of events, with excellent field position, the Panther Offense was ineffectual on this drive. With 8:26 remaining in the 2nd quarter, the Panthers faced a 4th and 8 situation. Cervantes called a timeout, and on the next play, completed a 21-yard pass to Ito Arroyo in the end zone for the Panthers’ second touchdown of the game. The kick was good. The Panthers led 14-0 with 8:19 remaining in the half.
On 3rd and 11, Brandon Houston and Cash Taylor sacked the Wildcat quarterback for a big loss, leading to a punt on the next play. However, a penalty for hitting the kicker resulted in a Tularosa first down on their 38. The Wildcats were unable to advance the ball, however, and punted with just over 5 minutes remaining in the half. Panthers took possession on their 10-yard line. Grinding out the yardage slowly but surely, Cervantes was able to advance to some degree, but the drive ended in a punt. The Panther Defense held the Wildcats well, but a very promising offensive drive by the Panthers resulted in a Wildcat interception in the end zone. With 32 seconds remaining in the 2nd quarter, the Wildcats had penetrated to the Panther 32-yard line. A holding penalty drove the Wildcats back, but they were then able to advance to the Panther 13-yard line. On 2nd and 10, the Wildcats had advanced to the 13-yard line. An attempted pass was batted down by Ito Arroyo on 4th and 10 from the 13, resulting in a turnover with 3 seconds remaining. At halftime, Jal led 14-0.
Andre Rodriguez took a handoff from Cervantes with just over 10 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, running it in for a 43-yard touchdown. Point after was good. Panthers led 21-0 with 9:57 remaining in the 3rd. With 9:39 remaining in the 3rd quarter, following an interception, the Panthers took possession on the Wildcat 49-yard like. A high snap got away from Cervantes, resulting in a loss of 20 yards and 2nd and 32 on the Jal 34-yard line. Cervantes then ran a quarterback keeper for over 20 yards down the middle to the Wildcat 44-yard line. He was then sacked for a loss on the Jal 49-yard line, resulting in a 4th and 15 situation. Timeout was called by the Panthers with 7:29 remaining in the 3rd quarter, with a Panther punt to follow.
The Wildcat passing game started to improve, and with a quarterback keeper, Tularosa advanced to the Jal 15-yard line. This was followed by a quick snap and a further 10 yard gain. With 5:26 remaining in the 3rd.m, the Wildcats had a first down on the Jal 5-yard line. A false start pushed them back 5 yards, with 2nd and goal on the 10. The Panther Defense rallied and started to shut the Wildcats down at this point, with a 4th and goal on the 8. Nevertheless, the Wildcats completed a pass into the end zone with just under 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. The two-point conversion was successful. With 4:50 left in the 3rd, the Panthers still led 21-8.
Ito Arroyo returned the ensuing kickoff to the 46-yard line for the Panthers. The drive turned into a slow plod, but then, just before the end of the 3rd quarter, Ito Arroyo took a handoff from Cervantes at the 32-yard line, running past defenders and into the end zone for Jal’s 4th touchdown of the night. Point-after attempt was blocked. Jal led 27-8.
On the next drive, on 1st and 10 on the Wildcat 30, the Tularosa quarterback completed a pass to #1 for a 70-yard touchdown, running untouched all the way. A successful two-point conversion resulted in a score of 27-16, with Jal retaining the lead. An unsuccessful onside kick went out of bounds with the Panthers taking over possession on the Wildcat 49. Andre Rodriguez took the ball down to the 44, for a 2nd and 5. On 3rd and 3 Rodriguez took the ball down to the 36 for a 1st down. Cervantes made another 1st down with a quarterback keeper down to the 23. The Panther running game appeared to be working like clockwork. Andre Rodriguez took a handoff down to the 13. On 2nd and 9, Rodriguez once again took the handoff from Cervantes, this time punching it into the end zone for a touchdown. Point after was unsuccessful. With 6:19 remaining in the game, Jal led 33-16.
Nolbert Cervantes appeared to suffer an injury when he was tackled on the 4-yard line. Kolby Vargas took over at quarterback for one play after Cervantes limped off the field. Cervantes then came back in on the next play and took the ball in for a touchdown with 3:12 remaining in the game. Point after was no good. Jal led 39-24.
The Wildcat passing game really showed up in the latter minutes of the game, driving down the field with several completions, eventuating in a touchdown followed by a successful two-point conversion. With 2:22 left in the game, Jal led their worthy opponents 39-32.
On fourth down, Cervantes was unable to make the first down with just over a minute to play, resulting in a turnover. A face mask penalty was called against the Panthers resulting in the Wildcats having a 1st and 10 on the 25. The Wildcats then pulled to within one point for the first time in the game with a quarterback keeper for the touchdown with just 26 seconds remaining in the game, with Jal hanging onto their lead 39-38.
Unfortunately for Tularosa, they missed the two-point conversion with a pass that was way too high to catch, allowing the Panthers to hold on to their one-point lead. Cervantes took a knee on the Panthers final possession. Final score was 39-38, with the Panthers just squeaking out a lead over Tularosa.
The Panthers play Hobbs JV Thursday the 31st in Hobbs.