Head coach Chad Phillips joined his assistant coaches and players as they jumped in excitement on the sidelines. At first he was unsure what was happening, but then he saw junior corner back Ryan Roper with the ball running toward their opponents’ end zone.

“I wasn’t watching the play,” Phillips said. “I saw Roper catch the ball and our fans and bench erupted.”  Roper’s interception sealed a crucial victory as the Panthers defeated Northgate 24-14 at Panther Stadium on Halloween night.  The win put the Panthers in the Region 4-AAAAA playoffs for the first time in four years. They play Dutchtown tonight in a road game. Kickoff was scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The winner moves on to the state playoffs.

“I was just thinking about our team,” Roper said. “I was thinking about the seniors and I wanted them to have the feeling of victory before they graduate.”

Earlier that day, junior wide receiver Dion Munerlyn was running a fever and was doubtful he would play in the biggest game of the year. He did, though, and he made an impact right away, scoring on a 40-yard catch-and-run to give the Panthers an early  7-0 lead.

“I knew that I was sick all day,” Munerlyn said. “We didn’t want this to be our last game, so I just took medicine to get better. It felt really good to score the first touchdown and help my team out.”

Freshman running back Rico Frye continued the hot start for the Panthers, scoring his only touchdown of the night from two yards out to build the Panther lead to 14-0 with 2:07 to go in the first quarter. Frye finished with 25 carries for 121 yards, giving him 1,000 yards on the season, the only freshman to accomplish this feat in school history.

The Panther defense dominated the first half, holding the Vikings to 110 total yards and five first downs. However, Viking running back Malik Wade scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to cut the score to 14-7 with 1:55 left in the half.

Senior kicker Brandon Oot,  who was 0-2 on field goal tries this season, made one from 36 yards out to put the Panthers up 17-7 with 5:42 left in the third.

Then Northgate suddenly started finding success with its triple option offense. The Vikings produced a 14-play,  72-yard drive, capped off with  a six-yard touchdown run by Wade to cut the Panther lead to three with four seconds left in the quarter.

After a Panther punt, the Vikings got the ball back at their own 11-yard line at the 9:38 mark of the fourth quarter. They continued to run the ball up the middle and use their triple option to fool the Panther defense. It seemed to be working until the Vikings faced a crucial fourth down.

Northgate quarterback Tyler Rowland snapped the ball on fourth-and-15 at the Panther 44. He found an open receiver down field and his just as he was about to release the ball, 6’8″ senior defensive end Terence Harper hit the ball in the air, which Roper caught and returned for a touchdown to end the game.

“There were definitely a lot of nerves while I was on the sideline.” Munerlyn said about those last tense minutes of the game.  “However, I trusted our defense would make a play,  and Roper made a big play.”

After the game, fans and players celebrated the win, ringing the victory bell for possibly the final time this season.  With the win, the Panthers are one win away from returning to the state playoffs.

“I’m excited for this region playoff game,” Phillips said about tonight’s game with Dutchtown. “It shows that these guys worked hard and have overcome the first two losses of the season.”  When these two teams met earlier this season, the Panthers won a close one, 35-33.

“It feels really good to go to the region playoffs,” Roper said. “This team can do anything. I truly believe that.”