Fort Zumwalt North opened the 2018 football season last Friday with a 34 - 27 overtime victory over Francis Howell. The two former long-time rivals, both schools are charter members of the Gateway Athletic Conference, had not faced one another on the gridiron since 1999, the year the conference split into two divisions based on school enrollments. The highly anticipated game did not fail to live up to the hype as the two teams matched each other blow for blow throughout the contest. After four quarters of play, the game was tied 27 - 27, forcing an overtime period. In overtime, the Panthers struck first when quarterback Joel Hillard, a senior making his first career start, hit Cario Payne on a 30 yard pass for a touchdown. On the ensuing possession, senior Cerry Watson stepped in front of a Howell pass for an interception that sealed the victory for the Panthers.
Hillard finished the night 16/26 for 197 yards passing and 4 touchdowns! Hillard spread the ball out to Panther receivers: Grant Latina (6 catches for yards and two touchdowns), Cario Payne (3 catches for 40 yards and a touchdown), Iaziah Hartrup (3 catches for 58 yards), and Tim Nesslage (4 catches for 28 yards). Cario Payne led all Panther rushers with 58 yards on 7 carries. Payne also scored the Panthers lone rushing touchdown.
Defensively the Panthers were led by "Big" Jaylin Vaughn, who proved to be an unstoppable force for the Panthers, as he netted 12 solo tackles and 2 asssists. Vaughn could be found in the Viking backfield throughout the evening as he accounted for several tackles for a loss. Other defensive standouts include: Cerry Watson (11 tackles, 2 assists, 1 interception) and Max Martin (7 tackles, 2 assists).
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This Friday (8/31) the Panthers travel across Hwy. 70 to face district rival Fort Zumwalt West. A game the features the City of O'Fallon's two public high schools and has been dubbed the "Battle of O'Fallon". FZN and FZW both won their respective conferences last season. The previous two games between the two school's were not decided until the final possession of the game. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.