Back-and-forth. Back-and-forth. That was the way it went early for Perry and Northeast in Macon Friday. Eventually, however, the Panthers were able to pull away for a 30-19 win.
The Raiders started the game with a fumble. The Panthers recovered it on the host’s 29 but was unable to convert on a fourth down at the 6.
Northeast punted after that. Perry again turned it over on downs, this time on the 28. It got on the board after that. That was after a Raiders punt. The Panthers took it on the 37 and turned it into a 69-yard touchdown pass from Lane Rucker to Tyler Ridley. The point after was no good.
Northeast looked about to answer, but after driving from its 42 to the 3, fumbled. Perry recovered it, but oops, it turned it right back over. Still, the defense held forcing the Raiders to settle for a Denis Escobar field goal.
Both punted to welcome the second quarter.
The Panthers threw and interception following that. Northeast recovered it on the 31 and scored on a fourth-down, three-yard pass from Nolan Usser to Isaiah Hilson.
Escobar’s point after gave Northeast a 10-6 lead.
Perry turned it over on downs following that. The Raiders punted. The Panthers scored to go back out front. This time it was a Rucker pass of 20 yards. The PAT was wide making it 12-10.
Northeast turned it over again on a fumble. That resulted in Jorge Bautista’s field goal. That made it 15-10, which is where it stood at the half.
The Panthers were picked off to start the third. The Raiders turned that into a touchdown and again went out front, 17-15.
It was short lived as Rucker hit a receiver for 80 yards and a score. That made it 22-17.
Northeast punted again after that and Perry scored again – a Rucker pass of 42 yards. The Panthers went for the two-point conversion and made it. That made it 30-17 with just over a minute to go in the third.
The Raiders converted on fourth down on their next drive but turned it over on downs shortly thereafter. Perry, however, gave it right back to them on a fumble. That yielded the previous results – turning it over on downs.
That did come deep in Panther territory, however, and they were able to get a safety out of it.
The Panthers forced a punt after that. Perry did likewise. Both turned it over on downs and finally, the Panthers recovered a fumble and were able to run out the rest of the clock for the win.
They improved to 2-0 on the year while Northeast began its year 0-1.
Players of the Game
McDonald’s Offensive Player – #2 Jonathan Williams
Your Pie/Flint Energies Defensive Player – #52 Antwan Fann
