MAXWELL, CA (MPG) – While it’s often said that “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” that adage didn’t exactly hold true last Friday night as despite a strong second half, the Panthers could not overcome the 28 unanswered points it yielded to visiting Fall River, ultimately falling 42-22 in a Cascade Valley League contest.
As the game began, an unfortunate piece of history that has plagued the Panthers in its contests against the Bulldogs repeated itself, when on the first play from scrimmage Fall River’s running back Carter Kroschel broke through the line for a long gain deep into Maxwell territory.
From there, Kroschel, who had a big night on both sides of the ball, scored from two yards out and after tacking on the two-point try, Fall River held the 8-0 advantage.
Unfortunately for Maxwell, its offense could not respond as it struggled against the Bulldog pressure, something that would be a consistent theme throughout the game.
Yet, the next series did bring some life to the Panther defense, which forced a fumble that was recovered by Erik New on the Fall River 10-yard line.
Although the Panthers could not capitalize, and turned the ball over on downs, New made another big play defensively on the ensuing Bulldog drive with a tackle for a loss that forced the visitors to punt.
However, it was the only time all evening Fall River had to punt, which didn’t bode well for Maxwell, as the Bulldogs put three more touchdowns on the board to take a 28-0 lead at the half.
But the second half was a somewhat different story for the Panthers, who came out strong with a good return on the kickoff, then saw Brody Jones take the handoff and go 52 yards for a score with just 15 seconds elapsed off the clock.
Then, as they have done more than a dozen times already this season, Maxwell successfully executed an onside kick, retaining possession at midfield.
Nine plays later, quarterback Noel Velazquez found receiver Tanner Vierra in the end zone and, following a two-point conversion, Maxwell had cut the deficit in half, trailing 14-28.
With the momentum in their favor for the first time, Eddie Izquierdo gave the Panthers a chance to move even closer, after he intercepted a pass, putting his team in business at their own 28-yard line.
Nonetheless, Maxwell was once again unable to take advantage, as four penalties stalled the march.
Still, the Panthers got an additional opportunity when the Bulldogs turned the ball over on the subsequent drive.
But, as had been the pattern all night, Maxwell could not exploit the situation and gave the ball back to Fall River, who just over a minute into the final period extended its lead to 35-14 on another Kroschel touchdown.
Yet, the Panthers didn’t quit and responded with a score of their own, when Velazquez connected with Rudi Gonzalez in the end zone on a nine-yard strike.
After that, however, the Bulldogs regained control, with Kroschel adding one more touchdown to the total and the defense, preventing Maxwell from answering.
It was a disappointing loss for the Panthers, who now sit fifth in the CVL at 3-3 and are 4-4 overall on the season.
Afterwards, Coach Lane Davis, while proud of his team’s second half resiliency, pointed to missed opportunities and the quality of the Bulldog defense as reasons his team fell short.
“We played a great second half,” said Davis. “But we were moving horizontally on offense and their defense was just too quick. We also had a chance for a touchdown that was dropped and couldn’t cover an onside kick that was wide open. We’ll get back at it though and try to be better next week.”
Jones led the Panthers’ ground attack with six carries for 68 yards, while Vierra made two catches for 43 yards.
Maxwell looks to move above .500 tonight when it squares off against Quincy in a CVL game that will be played at Feather River College.
