Lewis County victory moves Panthers to quarter final round

Jason Fite/Sports Writer

Barry Churchwell/Stats

Hulon Dunn/Photos

The Lewis County High School Panthers hosted the Adamsville Cardinals in the second round of the TSSAA 2A Football Playoffs at Bobby W. Sharp Stadium on Friday night, November 11. This was the second meeting between the Region 6AA rivals, as the Panthers defeated the Cardinals in Adamsville on September 29 by a score of 47-27.

The game began as a defensive struggle with neither team able to put together and sustain a drive on offense until late in the first quarter when Lewis County took possession and began moving into Cardinal territory.

Seven seconds into the second quarter Brycen McDonald hooked up with Dyer Barnes for a 20-yard touchdown pass and Timothy Brown connected on the point after attempt to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead.

Lewis County's defense would come up big through the remainder of the first half, forcing possession changes with a fumble recovery and an interception, and would score two more times in the half. Lincoln Brewer would score on two runs, an 18-yard rumble and a 15-yard sprint, and Brown would knock down both of his PAT attempts and Lewis County held a 21-0 lead as the teams went to the locker rooms for halftime.

The Panther offense continued to roll after the break as McDonald would connect with Barnes for the duo's second touchdown of the night, this time on a 15-yard pass and catch. Brown hit the point after to put the Panthers up 28-0.

Two minutes later the Panther offense found paydirt once more as Micah Godfrey scored on an 18-yard run. Brown hit his fifth PAT to make it a 35-0 game.

The Panther defense shut down the Adamsville offense all night, but Adamsville was able to put points on the board with under a minute left in the game on an 8-yard run and a successful PAT to make it a 35-7 final.

Lincoln Brewer had a huge game for the Panther offense, rushing for 207 yards on 16 carries with a pair of touchdowns. Micah Godfrey had 19 yards on 4 carries and a touchdown, Kai Bosque 2 carries for 11 yards, Chaz Sparkman 1 carry for 14 yards, and Ethan Ray 1 carry for 3 yards.

Brycen McDonald was efficient in the offence through the air, completing 8 of 12 attempts for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. Dyer Barnes had 4 receptions for 56 yards and 2 touchdowns, Chaz Sparkman 2 catches for 81 yards, and Bentley Kelsey 2 receptions for 16 yards.

The Panther defense held the Cardinals to 166 yards of total offense and were led by Lane Barnes' 7 tackles. Nathaniel Caamal had 6 tackles, Dominic Seiber 5 tackles and 2 for loss, Lincoln Brewer 5 tackles and 1 for loss, Eli Carroll 4 tackles and 2 for loss, Brennan Davis 3 tackles and 1 for loss, Jaylen Murphy 3 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery, Malachi Bruce 3 tackles and a fumble recovery, Kai Bosque 3 tackles, Chaz Sparkman 2 tackles and a sack, Bentley Kelsey, Ethan Ray, and Micah Godfrey 2 tackles each, Samuel Moore and Logan Graves 1 tackle each, and Dyer Barnes an interception.

The Panthers (11-1, 5-0) advance to the third round to face the Decatur County-Riverside Panthers (10-1, 4-1) on Friday night November 18, 7 p.m., at Bobby W. Sharp Stadium.