On Thursday, Oct. 27, the JV football team challenged the Pflugerville Panthers on the rival’s field. As a result of many pass interceptions and play execution errors, the Warriors were defeated with a score of 8-18.

“It was a game we could have won, but they beat us on two or three plays on defense,” Tristan Smith ‘18 said. “We had trouble scoring points in the red zone and overall they just executed better than us.”

The first quarter started with the Panthers’ kick off, fielded at the 15-yard line, which was soon brought down at the 35-yard line by Mohan Hegde ‘19. Soon after, ball carrier Kyle Clements ‘19 brought the ball up with a short gain on the play, ultimately bringing up the third down for the Warriors. Clements attempted to gain yards by carrying the ball up the field, but was brought down by the Panthers, ending the fourth down for the Warriors. Closing in on the end of the first quarter, Roshan Mara ‘18 tackled an opposing player just in time to save the Warriors from getting scored on. As the first quarter ended, the Warriors demonstrated their sportsmanship by kneeling as an injured player on the other team was assisted off the field.

“First quarter we didn’t do very well, but after that we came back and actually played harder than I thought we would,” Troy Yanez ‘18 said. “I’m proud of us for that, and in the end it was a fun game.”

As the second quarter took off, multiple Warriors worked together and made a shocking block that stopped the Panthers from scoring. With the score still tied at 0-0, Nolan Wilson ‘18 tackled the ball carrier on the other team at the 45-yard line, stopping them from advancing into a solid scoring position. Then Akhil Akshintala ‘18 was handed the ball and carried it just shy of the 30-yard line. Towards the end of the second quarter, the Panthers managed to score a touchdown by throwing a fade route.

The third quarter began with a score of 0-6, but then suddenly took a turn in the Warriors’ favor when Akshintala ran 40 yards to put the Warriors in a scoring position. Hegde threw a winning pass to Luca Mazzola ‘19, which landed a touchdown for the Warriors.

In the fourth quarter, with a lead of 8-6, the Panthers deceived the Warrior defense with a pump fake and scored a 50-yard touchdown. With three minutes left on the clock, the Panthers’ quarterback executed a 96-yard touchdown, thus ending any chance for a victory for the Warriors. The game finished with a score of 8-18.

“It was a good fight, but we had many execution errors,” William Wallace ‘18 said. “It’s disappointing that we lost, but we know what we have to work on to play better next week.”

On Thursday, Nov. 3, the Warriors will take on their biggest challenge yet against Cedar Ridge at the Warrior Bowl.