The FZN football team moved to 2 - 0 on the 2019 season with a hard fought 37 - 20 victory over cross-town rival Fort Zumwalt West. With the victory, the Panthers maintain "bragging rights" within O'Fallon's city limits. It was the sixth straight victory in the series, that was renewed in 2014, for the Panthers.
Despite the Panthers winning streak over the Jaguars,all of the contests have been highly competitive and Friday night was no different. The Jaguars took an early lead, scoring on their first possession of the night, before the Panther defense stiffened. The Panthers took their first lead of the night when Cairo Payne connected with Izaiah Hartrup on a 73-yard touchdown pass with 2 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter. From that moment the Panthers seized the momentum of the game. Following a safety recorded by the Panther defense, the Panther scored what proved to be the winning touchdown when Payne called his own number on took the ball into the end-zone from the Jaguar 9 yard line. The final 1:54 of the game saw the Panthers score twice, on another Payne touchdown run and Izaiah Hartrup pick six, and the Jaguars score on a kick-off return. The final scoring blitz led to a somewhat deceptive final score.
Defensively the Panthers held the Jaguars to under 200 yards of total offense. The defense was led by stand-out Max Martin who recorded a team high 10 solo tackles. Parker Monnig added 7 solo tackles, two of which resulted in quarterback sacks. As mentioned, Izaiah Hartrup intercepted a pass for a touchdown, his second pick-six of the season, to aid the defensive effort. Collin Pierce was credited with the safety following a blocked Jaguar punt.
On offense the Panthes were led by quarterback Cairo Payne, who rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Payne was 10/12 on the night passing while throwing for two touchdowns, the 73 yard pass to Hartrup and a 19 yard strike to Jack Newcomb.
This Friday the Panthers travel to Parkway Central to face the Colts. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm