Misalignment costs Panthers, drop 2A-5 opener to Lions

MAGNET COVE — While the weather may have played into Magnet Cove’s favor Friday night at Kenneth W. Hammonds Stadium, a misalignment early in the first period played a significant role in the outcome of the game as the Panthers fell, 12-10, to England.

After the Panthers’ opening drive was unsuccessful, forcing a punt by Alex Ordonez that was downed at the Lions’ 21-yard line, England’s Darren McClinton took the handoff on the first play of the team’s initial drive, carrying it 79 yards to the end zone after finding a hole up the middle. The point-after attempt was no good, leaving the Lions with a 6-0 lead with just 2:58 off the clock.

“They scored on the first play,” said Magnet Cove head coach Caleb Carmikle. “We were misaligned, and they busted us. Against athletes like that, you can’t be misaligned even one time or they’ll pop it. That made the difference in the game.”

Magnet Cove’s ensuing drive was more successful as they moved the ball 49 yards on 12 plays, capping it with a 24-yard field goal from Ordonez with 2:24 remaining in the period. The field goal marked the final play for more than two hours as multiple lightning delays kept players in their respective locker rooms until almost 9:30 p.m.

“Coach Carmikle called me earlier on today and said, ‘Do you want to play this game and make sure we get it in?’” said England head coach Andrew Roberson. “We both agreed that if it was going to take to 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., we were going to get it in. Both teams knew that we were going to be playing tonight. The demeanor, the morale of the boys were, ‘We’re playing.’”

When the teams returned to the field, the lightning was gone, but the rain was not. The downpour continued to fall throughout the remainder of the contest, hindering the Lions’ offense.

“As far as the conditions, they were really bad, but we’re not really a run team,” Roberson said. “We’re not known for that. We were kind of handcuffed by not being able to throw the ball and everything. You kind of saw our quarterback couldn’t get a grip on it. No fault to him because of the conditions, but at the same time, we’ve got to be able to spread out defenses in order to have success.”

England (1-3, 1-0 2A-5) managed to take a 12-3 lead into the locker room at the break, which was shortened to 10 minutes due to continuing threats of severe weather, after the Lions took advantage of a 16-yard field following Lucas Smeltzer failing to get control of a high snap on a punt.

Magnet Cove (1-3, 0-1) took care of all the scoring in the second half, holding the Lions without a yard on their first drive of the half, before the Panthers scored on their own first drive.

Taking over on their own 45, the Panthers needed just three plays to find the end zone as Eli Dawson found a hole and ran the ball 38 yards to the end zone to pull his team within three points with 8:47 remaining in the third frame. Ordonez split the uprights with his kick to set the final.

“You would have thought the wet game would have been advantage us, and it was, I think, in the second half,” said Carmikle. “We just couldn’t get anything going in the first half. We just ran out of time.”

Magnet Cove senior quarterback Grant Eskola had a strong game, despite the wet weather causing several fumbles.

“When the ball’s that wet, boy, it’s tough,” Carmikle said. “We’re coming over to the sidelines and drying our hands off every play. We had a little bit of issues of getting balls in. I don’t know if it was communication or what, but that’s going to happen when it’s a wet game. You prepare for that and hope that it doesn’t affect you, but I think it did some tonight.”

Senior running back Eli Dawson accounted for 118 yards of offense and the Panthers’ only touchdown of the night.

“He’s an All-State running back, and he played like one,” Carmikle said. “He did a great job. We made some adjustments at halftime up front to help get a little bit of movement. They’re sending everybody. Obviously, in rain like this, it’s tough to throw the ball. We made some adjustments and got it going a little bit the second half but couldn’t finish it out.”

“Our defense played awesome tonight,” Roberson said. “They played very well. They flew to the ball. They made tackles where they were supposed to. They came up with big stops. That’s a good team over there, fundamentally sound. Coach Carmikle and the coaching staff do an awesome job. I know they’re down right now, but they’re going to bounce back. They’re going to be good. They’ll continue to develop. They lost a lot from the offensive line last year. They’re going to get it right.

“As far as our guys, I’m extremely proud of them and the way they played. Coach (Adam) Hargrave, defensive coordinator, he did a great job this week in preparation for Magnet Cove. I’m just extremely proud to get out of here with the win.”

The Panthers will travel to face Poyen (3-1, 0-1) this week in a 2A-5 rivalry matchup, while England hosts Bigelow (3-1, 0-1).