BETHEL — The Miami Trace Panthers (1-2) made the trip to Clermont County on Friday to take on the Bethel-Tate Tigers (1-2).

Coming into the contest, the Panthers had a 27-26 win against Waverly (2-1), a 24-21 loss to Wilmington (2-1), and a 41-20 loss to Logan Elm (3-0).

The Tigers lost 40-35 in week one to New Richmond (2-1), won 18-14 over Bishop Brossart from KY (1-2), and lost 12-7 to Woodward (1-2).

Miami Trace emerged with the victory, 34-20.

The Panthers received the opening kickoff and proceeded to quickly march down the field, capping the drive with a 18-yard touchdown pass from Trey Robinette to Garrett Guess. The extra point was good to make it 7-0 with 9:48 to go in the opening quarter.

The Tigers responded with a successful drive of their own, efficiently moving the ball and ending the drive with a nine-yard touchdown run from the Bethel-Tate quarterback. The PAT was good to tie the game at seven.

The Tigers would get Miami Trace to fourth down on the next drive, but the Panthers executed a fake punt on a pass from Robinette to Guess to keep the drive alive. Later in the series, Asher LeBeau would run it in from 19 yards out to help the Panthers regain the lead. The extra point was wide left, keeping the score at 13-7.

Bethel-Tate found themselves in business on the next drive as they quickly got into Panther territory. They would turn the ball over moments later as the quarterback went to attempt a pass and the ball slipped from his hands. The loose ball was recovered by Westin Dawes to give the ball back to Miami Trace.

The Panthers were unable to get anything going and were forced to punt the ball back to the Tigers.

Bethel-Tate slowly but surely drove the ball down the field on their next possession. They converted a fourth-and-six from the Panther 46-yard line to get the ball inside the 30. The drive would later fizzle out when Nicholas Farrens and Jayden Jones sacked the Tiger quarterback on fourth down.

The Panthers regained possession with just over two minutes left in the half, and they went to work. Back to back big plays from Guess got the ball inside the red zone with 19 seconds left. Two plays later, Robinette would hit LeBeau on a wheel route for his second touchdown of the game with just four seconds until the half. The PAT was no good again, making the score 19-7 which was the halftime score.

Miami Trace would force a three-and-out to start the second half.

Back-to-back sacks by the Tigers on the next drive forced the Panthers to punt the ball away.

The Miami Trace defense would force another punt on the next drive.

On the first play of the next drive for the Panthers, they would fumble the ball and Bethel-Tate would recover inside the red zone. Two plays later, the Tiger quarterback would scramble around and find a receiver in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The PAT was good to make it 19-14 with 6:23 to go in the quarter.

Early in the next Panther drive, Julian Baker broke free for a 60-yard touchdown but it was called back due to a penalty. The play was still good enough for a 30-yard gain, and on the next play Baker would score another touchdown, this one from 30 yards out. The two-point attempt was successful on a pass from Robinette to Guess to make it 27-14.

The Tigers responded quickly, scoring a 59-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-12. The extra point was blocked to make it 27-20 with 4:07 remaining in the third quarter.

After an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Panther coaching staff on third down, they were forced to punt the ball right back to the Tigers.

Time in the third quarter ran out with Miami Trace in front, 27-20.

After converting a fourth down to keep the drive going, a big sack on second down and a sack fumble on third down got the ball back to the Panthers.

With the ball already in Miami Trace territory, they fed the ball to LeBeau who broke off a couple of nice runs to get the ball inside the one-yard line. On third-and-goal from the one-yard line, Baker plunged into the end zone for his second touchdown of the evening. The PAT was good to make it 34-20 Miami Trace with 6:11 to go in the contest.

Bethel-Tate would return the ensuing kickoff to the Panther 42-yard line. With 4:48 left in the contest, the Tigers were facing fourth-and-long. The Tiger quarterback would heave a pass deep down the field that was intercepted by Jake Manbevers and returned to midfield.

Miami Trace regained possession looking to milk the last few minutes off of the clock. They were able to take about three minutes off of the clock before punting the ball away with 1:22 left in the game.

The Tigers took possession from their own 10-yard line down two scores with no timeouts left. Miami Trace was able to force a turnover on downs and ran the rest of the clock out to secure the victory.

Miami Trace (2-2) will hit the road again next week as they take on the Western Brown Broncos on Friday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.

Western Brown (1-3) lost a shootout with Jackson Friday, 56-48. Jackson improves to 3-1.

Bethel-Tate (1-3) will begin play in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference (SBAAC) next Friday at 7 p.m. as they host Batavia.