Panther Football Begins New Era with Win!
On Friday, August 28th, the Leigh Panthers traveled to Palmer, NE, to open up a new chapter of Panther Football against the Palmer High School Tigers. The last time Leigh had its own football team was back in 2011, and now they begin a new era battling Palmer on the road.
The Panthers opened up this game scorching hot, as they would take a 20-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. It was highlighted by the pivotal stops on defense and the rushing attack led by both Blake Loseke and Aidan Ellsworth.
In the second quarter, the Panthers would tag on six more points after senior Blake Loseke returned a pick six to the house from 80 yards. Palmer would then continue to struggle on the offensive side as the Panthers’ defense continued to make them pay. Senior Luke Wellman led the charge up front for the Panthers on the D-Line.
After the first half, the Panthers’ offense dwindled out and was held scoreless in the third. Palmer was still held to zero through three quarters of play. In the fourth, that streak would come to an end as they returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Leigh would then respond with two touchdowns in the fourth to secure a 38-8 win over the Palmer Tigers.
The Panthers have now officially recorded their first win with the first-year head coach Mr. Jarrod Bazata.
Senior captain Loseke said, “I think that this was a great way to start the season. We know we have some things to fix, but at the end of the day we are very excited about the first win of the season.”
Assistant Coach Ben Tasa said, “We played good defensively for the most part, but we need to get back to our fundamentals on offense. We just need to keep working hard and this team will do great things.”
Game Stats:
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
Leigh (1-0) 20 6 0 12 38
Palmer (0-1) 0 0 0 8 8
OFFENSE:
Passing:
Cash Fehringher: 1/1, 12 Yards
Easton Brabec: 0/3, 0 Yards
Total: 1/4, 12 Yards
Rushing & Receiving:
Cash Fehringer: 3 Car, 4 Yards
Easton Brabec: 5 Car, 39 Yards, 2 TDS
Blake Loseke: 16 Car, 117 Yards (12 Yards Receiving)
Cade Hoesly: 4 Car, 17 Yards
Aidan Ellsworth: 13 Car, 115 Yards, 2 TDS
DEFENSE:
Cash Fehringer: 3 Tckls
Ben Rodenburg: 4 Tckls, 1 TFL, 1 INT
Easton Brabec: 9 Tckls
Luke Wellman: 5 Tckls, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
Blake Loseke: 3 Tckls, 1 INT (80 Yds)
Xavier Ross: 2 Tckls
Aidan Ellsworth: 1 Tckl
Tyce Larson: 8 Tckls
James Moore: 2 Tckls
Michael Wemhoff: 2 Tckls, 2 Sacks