The Starr’s Mill Panthers are officially 7-0 after playing Central Carrollton in a very tight game that ended with the Lions missing a game-tying field goal as time expired. Starr’s Mill won 38-35 and are now the only undefeated team in region play.
Last year, the Panthers played the Lions in an equally intense game where they won on a last-minute Hail Mary play.
In light of all of this season’s injuries, many were unsure that the Panthers would pull off a win, but this only fueled them even more.
“I thought offensively, we handled the pressure really well,” head coach David Cooper said. “We came out and did some stuff we really hadn’t done in a couple years.”
Starr’s Mill senior quarterback Logan Inagawa led the team rushing 17 times for 129 yards, completing 8 of 10 passes for 150 yards, and scoring all 5 of the team’s touchdowns, 3 rushing and 2 passing. DeLeare had 4 receptions for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior Jeremiah Potter ran the ball 18 times for 91 yards.
For the Lions, Jonaz Walton ran the ball 17 times for 87 yards and caught 2 passes for 14 yards and 1 touchdown. Zyleigh Person had 3 receptions for 85 yards and 1 touchdown. Khaven Cochran caught 3 passes for 72 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Jake Ivester had 2 receptions for 25 yards and 1 touchdown.
During the first quarter, both teams struggled to score because of the strong defense on both ends. The opening quarter ended with the Panthers and Lions tied, 0-0.
It was not until the second quarter that it started to get intense. Inagawa scored the first of his five touchdowns on a 6-yard run before the Lions retaliated with their first two touchdowns. Inagawa continued to respond and tied the game on a 7-yard run. The Lions would take the lead just before halftime when Jr. Harris connected with Ivester on a 13-yard touchdown pass.
“We come out here and practice every day, and we just have one goal in mind, just win,” Inagawa said. “I feel like we executed on that.”
Starr’s Mill opened the second half in dramatic fashion as Inagawa completed a 49-pass to DeLaere to tie the game at 21-21. Central responded midway through the third quarter, and Starr’s Mill kicker Aaron Blair made a 26-yard field goal to set up a wild final quarter with the Lions leading 28-24.
Inagawa went on to contribute two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one of them being a 24-yard run and the other a 29-yard pass to DeLeare. The Lions then scored a final touchdown by Cochran on a 33-yard pass to try and catch up to the Panthers which resulted in a score of 38-35.
In a final attempt to win the game, the Lions decided to go for a last minute field goal that missed the post just wide right ending in a Panther win.
“As a team, we wanted this, you know,” DeLaere said. ”We were coming out here with the mentality that we were going to hit them in the mouth and we did.”
The Panthers are currently undefeated with a 7-0 record overall, 3-0 in region play. They will play this Friday at 7:30 p.m. against the Harris County Tigers at Harris County High School. The Tigers are currently tied with Central for second place in the region at 2-1.