Panthers Roll Cheatham County

Stats / Barry Churchwell
Photos / Pete Noblin and Hulon Dunn

The Lewis County High School Panther football team played their first home game in the comforts of Bobby W. Sharp Stadium on Thursday night, August 27. The game was originally slated for the normal Friday night slot, but the threat of inclement weather forced the game to be moved.

The Panthers offense was on point for the night and wasted little time lighting up the scoreboard, scoring early and often. Early in the opening quarter the Panthers capped off a scoring drive with a 4 yard Blake Carroll touchdown run, and Carroll added the point kick to stake a 7-0 lead with almost ten minutes to play in the first quarter. The Panther defense, which held the Cubs offense to negative 13 yards in the first, got the offense back on the field with time to add more points in the first. Lincoln Brewer scored on a 14 yard run and Carroll added another point to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead in the first.

The Panther offense, and defense, picked right up in the second quarter as Ethan McCann scored fourteen seconds into the quarter with a 2 yard run. Carroll added his third successful point to take the score to 21-0. With 6:44 to go in the first half, Clydarius Sparkman broke free on a 30 yard touchdown run. Blake Carroll again added the point to stake a 28-0 lead for the home team. The Panther defense, which held the Cubs to 4 yards of offense in the second quarter, got in on the scoring when Ayden Dunn picked off a pass and took it to the house for a 19 yard pick-six, and the Blake Carroll PAT made it 35-0 Panthers going into the half.

With the game firmly in hand in the third quarter, Austin Hicks scored the final points for the Panthers and started the running clock mercy rule with a 15 yard touchdown run at 8:50. With the successful point after, this time from Ethan McCann, the Panthers took a 42-0 lead through the end of regulation. The win gave the Panthers a 2-0 record on the season.

Sparkman led the Panther offense on the ground with 115 yards on 7 carries with a touchdown, Blake Carroll had 55 yards on 6 carries and a touchdown, Austin Hicks had 43 yards on 5 attempts with a touchdown, Lincoln Brewer had 39 yards on 3 carries with a touchdown, Ethan Fransen had 39 yards on 2 carries, Kael Feichtinger had 26 yards on 2 touches, Andrew Ambaoa 6 yards on 4 carries, Kadin Shepherd 6 yards on 1 carry, Ayden Dunn 5 yards on 2 carries, and Ethan McCann had 2 yards on 1 carry with a touchdown.

Quarterback Bryson James completed 1 of his 2 passes on the night for minus -1 yard. The Panther offense amassed 336 yards on the ground on the night.

On defense, the Panthers limited the Cheatham County Cubs to 45 yards of total offense on the night while forcing 4 turnovers. Robert Young had 6 tackles and one for a loss, Austin Hicks 6 tackles, Kael Feichtinger 5 tackles and a fumble recovery, Sloan Moseley, Jayden Stewart, Alex Fall, and Ian Carroll with 4 tackles each, and Carroll one for a loss, Blake Carroll 3 tackles, Lincoln Brewer 2 tackles and one for a loss, Ethan McCann 2 tackles and a fumble recovery, Ikaika Bosque 2 tackles, Kade Skelton one tackle for a loss, Clydarius Sparkman, Hunter Smith, Kyle Larue, Riley Runions, Caiden Cotham, and Andrew Willis 1 tackle each, and Ayden Dunn an interception return for a touchdown.

The Panthers will be back in action on Friday night, September 4, at 7 p.m. as they host the Community Vikings at Bobby W. Sharp Stadium.

Homecoming attendants and crowning of the queen will begin at 6:30 p.m.