On a night perhaps better suited to be inside by a fire, the Miami Trace Panthers welcomed the Carlisle Indians for the second game of the 2017 football season Friday night.
With incessant rains, winds strong enough to keep Old Glory flying straight out and chilly temperatures making everything that much more miserable with the damp, the Indians built a 35-7 lead on their way to a final victory of 35-19.
The Panthers trailed 28-7 at the halftime and gave up a 70-yard touchdown to the Indians on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter.
Miami Trace scored two touchdowns in the second half, but missed an extra-point kick and were thwarted going for two after the second touchdown to finish with 19 points.
“I’m proud of these guys,” Miami Trace head coach Jerry Williams said.
“The first half was ugly,” Williams said. “We got punched in the mouth and we didn’t respond.
“We had a good talk at halftime and the leaders stepped up,” Williams said. “Although we gave up that first (touchdown), outside of that, these guys played a great second half. That’s what I want to see from these guys.
“It’s a young team,” Williams said. “If they continue to play like that, there’s going to be some promise.”
On their first series of the game, Carlisle quickly connected on a 55-yard touchdown pass play. The extra-point kick made it 7-0 with 9:41 remaining in the initial quarter.
The Panthers were able to get their offense going late in the first, with senior Brady Wallace scoring on a one-yard run with 30.8 seconds showing on the new stadium scoreboard.
Sophomore Justin Shoemaker’s extra-point boot tied the game, 7-7.
Carlisle struck and did it quickly again on their next possession, with Dakota Millikan scoring on a 67-yard run.
The Indians led, 14-7 with 11:03 to play in the first half.
The teams exchanged punts before Millikan scored on a 5-yard run to give the Indians a 21-7 lead with 3:12 to play in the half.
Carlisle scored on a 47-yard run by Jake Moore to take a 28-7 lead into the locker room. That score came with 47.7 seconds to play in the half.
The Indians scored on the very first play from scrimmage in the second half, a 70-yard run to go on top, 35-7.
Wallace scored on a 30-yard run with 2:55 to play in the third quarter. The extra-point kick was no good.
The Panthers scored with 10:11 to play in the game, this time a 2-yard run by Wallace. The two-point conversion run was denied by the Indians.
The teams exchanged turnovers later in the fourth, the score standing as the final, 35-19.
Elsewhere around the Frontier Athletic Conference Friday, the Washington Blue Lions improved to 2-0 with a 33-12 win at Circleville; Jackson goes to 2-0 with a 31-7 win over Fairfield Union; Hillsboro slips to 1-1 with a 39-15 loss to Goshen; the McClain Tigers drop to 0-2 with a 42-6 loss to Unioto and Chillicothe goes to 2-0 with a 28-7 win over Licking Heights.
Miami Trace will be back at home next week to take on the Logan Elm Braves. Game time is 7 p.m.
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