If you were at the Paint Branch football game on Friday, you probably thought it was going to be a game dominated by the Panthers, given their stellar season record of 11-2 last year. However, with a halftime score of 2-0 Blake, this year’s game proved that it would be an intense battle for both teams.

Paint Branch won the coin toss but quickly fumbled the ball, giving Blake possession. The Bengals tried to score a rushing touchdown, but the Panther defense was strong and shut them down. Throughout the first quarter, the defense remained strong, holding Blake off five yards from the Paint Branch end zone.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Bengals scored on a safety, making the score 2-0. The score remained the same until the beginning of the third quarter when Blake player Markel Hawkins scored a thirty-yard defensive touchdown. The Bengals missed the two-point conversion, making the score 8-0 Blake.

“Our defense did great, following the game plan the coaches had for us,” junior Devin Ho commented. “We were down 8-0 but our offense picked up and tied the game, which was huge for our momentum. After that, we ended up shutting them out.”

The Panthers bounced back quickly as quarterback Dannon Davis-Cray scored a touchdown followed by a successful two-point conversion that tied the game 8-8. Senior Darryl Hill finished off the third quarter on a strong note by scoring a seventy-yard defensive touchdown. After Hill’s score, the Panthers were able to add on the extra point, and Paint Branch was in the lead by a score of 15-8.

Davis-Cray finished the game by leaping into the Bengal end zone to score six more points for Paint Branch. Though the Panthers missed the extra point, Paint Branch held a commanding lead of 21-8.

“Our defense had another outstanding game,” junior Jordan Hill said. “We all flew to the ball and communicated well out there. It took some time, but after the offense began to get in the flow of things, we dominated the game.”