Panthers pounce on Eagles 44-24

That wasn't how it was supposed to go. The Class 2 #9 ranked Liberty Eagles were on a roll. They had knocked off the Ava Bears earlier in the season and blasted onto the statewide radar. Their defense had stifled everyone for weeks and offensively, the Eagles have tons of weapons and speed. 

 

But the Panthers didn't read the script. They showed up to the “Eagles Nest” Friday night and opened a metaphorical “can.”

 

It looked promising early for the Eagles. On their fourth offensive play, Gavin Reese tossed a beautiful pass down the sideline into the arms of Parker Tune, who raced for a 66-yard touchdown. Jaren Rutledge plunged in the two-point try and the Eagles held an early 8-0 lead. 

 

Two plays later, Panthers’ quarterback Aden Estep took it the distance on a 65-yard run. 

 

Liberty's next possession ended with a gut punch. They moved all the way down the field, only to fumble the ball away inside the Grove five-yard line. 

 

Grove scored again with an Estep one-yard run. The score was set up on a 36-yard pass from Estep to Eli Golden on fourth-and-three. Estep punched in the two-point play and Grove grabbed their first lead 14-8. 

 

The Eagles took the lead back early in the second quarter on a Chris Sharr jet-sweep for 78 yards. Rutledge punched in another two-point conversion try and the Eagles regained the lead 16-14. 

 

The offensive explosion for both teams continued. Grove scored next on another Estep one-yarder. Then, Rutledge of Liberty answered from one yard out to put the Eagles back in front. After that, Estep broke loose and scored on a 53-yard scamper to give Grove the lead once again. 

 

With just over two minutes to go in the first half, Liberty got the ball back, looking to score and head into the locker room with a slight lead. Instead, momentum swung in Grove’s favor and would stay with them the rest of the game. The Eagles went three-and-out and the Panthers partially blocked the punt, setting up shop inside Eagle territory. With just five seconds on the clock, Estep found receiver Golden wide open down the middle of the field for a 33-yard dagger. Grove took a 32-24 lead into half and never looked back.

 

Grove was feeling it in the second half. They carried all momentum the remainder of the game. The Panthers’ defense picked off the Eagles three times and chalked up a defensive goose-egg. Estep and running back Brayden Curtiss would add touchdowns for the Panthers to end the game at 44-24.

 

For the Eagles, it's time to do some soul-searching. Hopefully, a valuable lesson was learned on Friday night. No matter what the game prognosticators say, you won't be given anything. You have to want it more than the other team.