Dark clouds in the sky foretold an ominous beginning for the Plant/Gaither game. And, sure enough, lightning struck on the first play — allowing the Panthers to jump out to an early lead on their way to a 41-8 victory over the Cowboys. Plant’s opening kickoff went untouched before it was recovered by Panther Fletcher Barnes at the Gaither 14-yard line. Three plays later, Alexander Jackson galloped in from the 5-yard line. Hunter Anderson’s extra point was good and with less than a minute played, Plant had a 7-0 lead.
Gaither moved the ball on its next series, but the drive came to an abrupt halt when Cowboy quarterback Alex McCough fumbled the ball in Panther territory — a call that McCough disputed. Plant’s next drive stalled quickly, as did Gaither’s next possession. After a Gaither punt, Plant took over at his own 35 as the first quarter came to a close. Plant moved the ball effectively to start the second quarter, keyed by a 20-yard pass from QB Colby Brown to Barnes to convert on 3rd down. Brown then found fellow senior Andrew Beck in the corner of the end zone for a 9-yard scoring strike and a 13-0 Panther lead.
Plant’s defense got on track, forcing another Gaither punt. As a steady rain began to fall, the Panthers moved the ball downfield, with Brown hitting Cam Winter with a big 3rd down conversion to give the Panthers a first and goal. A play later, Brown took it in himself with a 1-yard touchdown run. Anderson’s extra point gave the Panthers a 20-0 lead with 3:26 remaining in the half.
The Plant defense forced another three and out, but the Cowboy punt attempt went askew. Plant safety Austin Hudson scooped up the ball and carried it most of the way to pay dirt before losing the handle on the rain-soaked ball. No worries – teammate Michael Murphy was Johnny-on-the-spot and recovered the ball in the Gaither end zone for his first varsity touchdown and a 27-0 Plant halftime lead.
The rain continued to come down even harder, forcing a cancellation of the halftime activities and dampening the spirits of the home team’s fans. The Panthers continued to rain on the Cowboy parade at the beginning of the second half, as Hudson zigged and zagged his way down to the Cowboy ten-yard line with the kickoff. From there, Brown hit Barnes with a ten-yard TD pass. Kyle Henderson ran it in for a 2-point conversion and Plant led 35-0.
A short punt and a short while later, senior Jake Buxton broke through the line and motored 27 yards for Plant’s sixth touchdown of the evening and a 41-0 advantage. On the other side of the ball, the Plant defense continued to harass McCough, with county sack leader Jackson Kilcoyne adding to his numbers.
In the closing minutes of the game, Gaither running back Jalen Cochran rambled 24 yards up the middle for a touchdown. Cowboy David Mazur closed out the scoring with a 2-point conversion. Final score: Plant 41, Gaither 8.
The Panthers move to 2-0-1 on the season and return home next week to host district foe Bloomingdale at Dad’s Stadium, while Gaither falls to 1-2 and travels to Freedom next week.
– Robert Barnes