A take on Murphys law says that ” whatever can go wrong will go wrong” and that adage sums up much of what happened to the Maxwell Panthers last Friday night, as the first half of their home opener spun out of control and they went down in a 56-21 defeat at the hands of the Hamilton City Braves.
In addition to seeing the Braves score 28 points on broken plays, the Panthers also lost starting quarterback junior Dillon Dry due to concussion protocol.
After finding themselves down 41-7 at intermission, Maxwell regrouped and played a much more competitive second half, which Coach Lane Davis was pleased to see.
” We are building and have a lot yet to learn, so at this point Hamilton was the better team,” Davis said. ” I am really happy with the adjustments we made and how we played in the second half, however.
All Maxwells points involved running back Ruben Velazquez, as the junior caught an eight yard pass from Dry in the first quarter, made good on a 38 yard reception from freshman quarterback Noel Velazquez in the third, then capped his night with a three yard plunge in the final quarter.
Also playing well on the offensive side of the ball was senior Ignacio Velazquez, the Panthers spark plug, who carried 11 times for 64 yards, and junior Berto Lara, who gained another 40 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Maxwell forced three first half turnovers and was led by Ruben Velazquez, with eight tackles, and Ignacio Velasquez, who collected six.
Davis also liked what he saw from sophomore defensive backs Rudy Gonzalez and Robert Wade. –
