Panthers victorious over PURE Academy Royals

The Lewis County Panthers played their final home game of the regular season on Friday night, October 6, as they hosted the Pure Youth Academy Royals of Memphis.

The first quarter was marked by defensive efforts from both teams as the Panthers saw drives stall out in Royal territory. Lewis County forced two Pure Youth turnovers as the game remained tied at 0-0 at the end of the opening period.

Micah Godfrey would get the scoring started two minutes into the second quarter as he broke free on a 48-yard touchdown run, giving the Panthers a 6-0 lead.

Pure Academy answered on their next possession, scoring on a 49-yard run and a two-point conversion to take an 8-6 lead.

The Panthers bounced back, plowing deep into Royal territory and scoring on a 2-yard run from Godfrey and a conversion run to go up 14-8.

Godfrey would cap off another drive late in the half on a 3-yard run and Chaz Sparkman scored the conversion run to put the Panthers on top 22-8 at halftime.

The Panthers picked up where they left off as play began in the second half with a scoring drive finished off by a 5-yard run by Drew Ray and a conversion run to give Lewis County a 30-8 lead.

Pure Academy would score on their following possession, breaking off a 76-yard touchdown run to make the score 30-14.

The two teams would combine for twenty-six points in the fourth quarter. The first score came for the Panthers on a 29-yard run by Godfrey, his third touchdown of the night, and he added the point after kick to push the Panther lead to 37-14.

Less than a minute later the Royals scored on a 60-yard run to make it a 37-20 game.

Chaz Sparkman hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Brycen McDonald with just over two minutes left to play and Godfrey connected on the PAT giving Lewis County a 44-20 lead.

The Royals would add a late score with a 4-yard run as time expired and the Panthers took a 44-26 win.

Micah Godfrey had another big night for the Panther offense, with 200 yards on 27 carries and 3 touchdowns. Drew Ray had 5 carries for 32 yards and a touchdown, Chaz Sparkman 3 carries for 18 yards, Brycen McDonald 1 carry for 2 yards, and Fletch Kelsey 1 carry for 1 yard.

Brycen McDonald was 14 for 26 passing for 132 yards and a touchdown. Chaz Sparkman had 8 receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown, Fletch Kelsey 4 receptions for 23 yards, Kobe Feichtinger 1 for 5 yards, and Dakota Hull 1 for 3 yards.

Drew Ray had 12 tackles to lead the Panther defensive effort, Nathanial Caamal added 10 tackles, Dominic Seiber had 6 tackles with 2 for loss, Eli Carroll and Noah Alkire each had 6 tackles, Chaz Sparkman had 5 tackles and a fumble recovery, Fletch Kelsey and Kade Carroll each had 5 tackles, Tim Brown 4 tackles and a fumble recovery, Jaylen Murphy 4 tackles and a sack, Micah Godfrey 3 tackles and a fumble recovery, Brennan Davis 3 tackles and 1 for loss, Kobe Feichtinger and Corbyn Harris 2 tackles each, and Ethan Ray a fumble recovery.

The Panthers enter their bye week with a 7-1 record, 4-1 in Region 5-AA. The Panthers will be on the road facing Summertown on Friday, October 20, for a regional matchup.