The undefeated Paint Branch Panthers ripped through the Blair Blazers to capture their fourth win of the season, 40-14.

On September 21, the 2-1 Blazers hosted the 3-0 Panthers to much fanfare. It was a highly-anticipated matchup, testing the Panthers defense that had not allowed a point in their first three games. While the Blazers put up points on the Panthers, it was not enough to match the strong outrip of the Panthers’ offense.  

Before the game, Coach Blackwell discussed the game plan for the Panthers which centered around dealing with the Blazer misdirection game. “The plan is the same as any opponent, stop what they like to do,” noted Coach Blackwell. He added, “The Blazers have a lot of misdirection plays so us being disciplined is a concern.”

The misdirection did work for the Blazers and put a brief scare into the Panthers before they rebounded and took control.

The Panthers started out strong in the first quarter, with senior Shawn Harris scoring a 30-yard blocked kick return. The extra point by senior Tyler Przygocki was good, and the Panthers were up 7-0. Quarterback Norman Douglas, Jr. threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Max Davis. The extra point by Przygocki was good and the Panthers were up 14-0. Junior receiver Larry Hackey picked up a smooth 35-yard touchdown on a pass from Douglas to boost the lead again. Another extra point from Przygocki put them up 21-0 in only the first quarter   

The defense did the rest of the work for the quarter, keeping the Blazers scoreless. A sack a piece from seniors Wafue Fuondjing and Amadou Diallo added up to 10-loss yards for the Blazers, who were having trouble moving the ball.

In the second quarter, the Blazers’ offense stepped up against the Panthers scoring 2 touchdowns on back-to-back drives. The Panthers had no points to answer in the quarter, so the score was tight at 21-14 at the end of the half.

The third quarter only saw one touchdown from the Panthers, a run by Douglas, Jr. on the goal line. The extra point was good, putting the Panther lead at 28-14. The Blazers couldn’t answer at all as they were shut down by the Panther defense led by junior middle linebacker Wisdom Agbeyome, who had a productive night as he picked up 14 total tackles on 3 solo stops and 11 assists. Senior cornerback Kyree Lenn, who transferred from Springbrook this year, has fit well into the Panthers defense grabbing an interception and 6 total tackles on the night.

In the fourth quarter, the Panthers picked up the scoring with senior running back Justin Page scoring on a 3-yard run. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, but the Panthers had a comfortable lead at 34-14. Besides his work on offense, Page chipped in on defense with 6 tackles, 1  solo and 5 assists. The last touchdown of the night came from senior linebacker Kennypride Toh, who took an interception to the house to finish the scoring at 40-14. Toh also had 7 tackles on the night. The win was solid for both the defense and the offense. On the offensive side, Douglas led the way, accounting for 3 touchdowns, and junior running back Samuel Doku paced the running game with 140 yards on 15 carries. Although Doku didn’t score in this game, his presence was still felt and kept the Blazers on their heels.

Although the Panthers win was a blowout, Douglas, Jr. understands that the team still has work to do. He said that he was satisfied with the win but felt that he and his team “could have had a stronger performance.”