The FZN football team held on to beat the Washington Blue Jays by a score of 35 - 32 last Friday. With the victory, the Panthers improved to 3 – 1 (3 – 0 in conference play) on the season. The contest nearly came down to the final play of the game, as the Blue Jays rallied from a 35 – 10 deficit late in the 3rd quarter. With the Blue Jays frantically attempting to drive into field goal range in the final minute of the game, Carter Madere intercepted a Blue Jay pass to seal the victory for the Panthers.
The Panthers were led by the outstanding special teams play of Brayden Miller, who scored touchdowns on both a punt return and kick-off return for the Panthers. On the night, Miller recorded 237 return yards for the Panthers. DJ Jones led the offensive attack for the Panthers, as he rushed for 78 yards on just 7 carries, including a 52-yard romp for a touchdown.
Defensively the Panthers, recorded four turn-overs, the interception by Madere and fumble recoveries by: Alex Goeke, Andy Guthery and Maurice Hamilton. Other defensive standouts included: PJ Henderson (4 tackles, 13 assists), Shane Pruitt (4 tackles, 10 assists) and the previously mentioned Madere, who recorded 5 tackles with 9 assists on the evening.
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This Friday, the Panthers travel to Holt High School to take on the Indians. Two of the original members of the Gateway Athletic Conference, this will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2017. Holt advanced to the Class 5 state finals a season ago.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm.