From staff reports
San Marcos —
The Temple Centex Chargers were 45-point favorites when they came to San Marcos last Friday to take on the six-man the San Marcos Area Christian Competitors (SMACC) Panthers in both team’s season opener.
However, christening their new field at the Gil Payton CFPO Football Complex, the forecasters obviously forgot to use pride in their equation, as the Panthers scored a 38-24 win.
Temple took possession of the ball first, but the strong defense of Andrew Hall and Matt Chapman stopped the Chargers’ first drive short at the goal line. The first quarter turned out to be a defensive battle with both teams scoreless.
The Panthers’ running game was strong throughout, led by Taylor Robertson who scored the first touchdown of the game in the second quarter.
Chapman came through with another big play by causing a fumble on the ensuing kick-off and the Panthers were back in business again.
Moments later, Hall connected with Jacob Neffendorf for the Panthers’ second score of the game and a 12-0 lead.
The Chargers came back with a touchdown before halftime to trim the lead to 12-6, but Robertson posted his second score of the night in the third quarter to increase the Panthers’ lead to 12.
Temple didn’t give in easily, posting a touchdown on its next drive to cut the lead to 18-12, but Chapman came through with three more scores (two on the ground and a pass from Hall) to help lead the Panthers to victory.
Defensively, the Panthers benefited from solid pass coverage throughout, as Hall led the team with 21 tackles. Adam Bryant also came through with big plays by batting down two passes into the end zone. Hugh McCallick also played well for the Panthers.
“My returning players did a great job tonight. They were ready and showed their stuff to a very well-prepared team. Centex had great defensive coverage and was able to have six strong players on the field throughout the game,” Panthers’ head coach Bruce Hall said. “I’m proud of my new players. This was their first game and even though they were a bit hesitant they stepped up and played well.”
The Panthers will host Stephenville Faith Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the CFPO Fields.
