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2/8/10
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Sports
irror Comeback thwarted Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Late game heroics foiled by Boerne Champion rally in closing seconds By ALEX RILEY Mirror sports writer
SAN ANTONIO – Whatever happened in the Midlothian locker room at halftime must have made a dramatic impact on the football team. For 23 minutes in the second half, the Panthers turned a miserable start into a rally for the ages. But it was the 24th minute that proved to be just a little too much. After a dramatic comeback for a 24-21 lead, Boerne Champion used a 39-yard toss from Taylor Davis to David Massey to ultimately seal a 28-24 victory in the second game of the Texas Football Classic. “It’s going to take a little bit to get over it,” Midlothian coach Robby Clark said. “Anytime you compete you want to win and anytime you lose like that you kind of feel like you get in your own way a little bit. We’ve got to overcome that.” The obstacles Midlothian (0-1) was forced to overcome in its season opener against Champion (1-0) came in large part to self-inflicted wounds. Four first half turnovers resulted in both of the Chargers’ scoring drives. An interception on a screen pass set up Champion run-
ning back Brent Sutherland for a 29-yard scamper while a fumble on a delayed handoff led to a Tim Tebow-esque jump ball pass from John Free to Dean Rittiman for a 14-0 Charger lead. The Panthers stopped the bleeding as time expired in the first half with a quick drive that was aided by some timely Champion penalties. A 35-yard reception by Mason York from Dillon Fairbanks set up a 27-yard field goal try for Dillon Wilson which made it 14-3 at the half. That’s when things started changing for Midlothian as a different team seemed to come out of the locker room. After throwing three first half Fairbanks interceptions, came out gunning on the first drive. “In the locker room, coaches and players they all got in all of our faces and said we’re going to turn it around in the second half,” Fairbanks said. “So, we did it.” The junior completed his first three passes of 10, 6 and 13 yards to start the third period. A 12-yard run by Michael Glenn set the Panthers up at the 19-yard line as Fairbanks eyed wide receiver Derrick Agbaroji for See PANTHERS, Page 2C
Photos by Gary Pucket and Mike Sackett/Special to The Mirror
Midlothian wide receiver Eddie Johnson (above) hauls in the go-ahead, 75-yard touchdown pass that put the Panthers up 24-21 with just over two minutes remaining in the season opener. Quarterback Dillon Fairbanks (left) started the game with three interceptions in the first half but came back to throw three touchdowns in the second. Despite his efforts, the Panthers fell 28-24 against Boerne Champion.
Defense gives sterling performance in opener By ALEX RILEY Mirror sports writer
SAN ANTONIO – It’s not always about how you start, but how you finish. Well, most of the time. After a sluggish first half that saw Boerne run wild against the Midlothian defense, the Panthers clamped down in the second half but the unit’s efforts weren’t quite enough. The Chargers scored the go-ahead touchdown with just over a minute left to play and escaped with a 28-24 win. “I thought the defense overall had a great night. We gave up two scores in the first half off turnovers and they had a short field and some momentum,” Midlothian coach Robby Clark said. Those two first half scores were a 29-yard touchdown run from Brent Sutherland following a Panther interception and a jump pass after a fumble for a 14-0 lead. While turnovers led directly to the points, the Chargers
were able to churn up big first half yardage on the ground thanks to Sutherland. On 10 first half carries, the senior was able to gain exactly 100 yards. Two of those carries went for over 25 yards including the 29-yard touchdown scamper. “We were doing good in the first half, the defense was but they were getting good field position and it was hard to get fired up when they’re starting off in the red zone,” linebacker Nathan Fisher said. But if the first half was day, the second half was night for the defense as the Panthers put the clamps on Sutherland. Over the course of the next 24 minutes, he carried the ball another 10 times but this time for just 35 yards with his longest run going for eight yards. The damage came from Charger quarterback Taylor Davis, who netted just 73 yards rushing and 65 yards passing on a 6-of-14 day. Though his stats were not
staggering, Davis was not sacked, only turned the ball over once and had just two plays for negative yardage. With the defense limiting Champion to just one scoring drive in the second half, the Midlothian offense provided the rally as two scoring tosses to Derrick Agbaroji brought the Panthers within striking distance at 21-16. The defense responded by keeping momentum firmly in the Midlothian corner. On a third down and three following Midlothian’s score, Fisher read a reverse handoff to a trailing wide receiver and wrapped him up for the tackle and a three-yard loss. “The offense started picking up the pace and that just fired up the defense,” Fisher said. After a Champion punt, Midlothian took the lead on a 75-yard pass to Eddie Johnson. Following the twopoint conversion, the See DEFENSE, Page 2C
Photo by Mike Sackett/Special to The Mirror
Hunter Moore wraps up Boerne Champion quarterback Taylor Davis for a sack. The defense held their own against a tough Charger squad.