Panthers hand Manhattan its first loss of the season

Facing the undefeated Manhattan Tigers on the Tiger football field Friday night, the Jefferson Panthers captured a convincing 39-7 win. With the win, the Panthers improved to a 5-0 record on the season, 3-0 in the division.

Manhattan scored first, but it would be all Panthers from then on. After tying it up, the Panthers moved out to a 14-7 lead with 6:04 left in the half. A couple of nice tackles by Hayden Guisti and Nathan Rasch left the Tigers facing a fourth and seven. They set up showing a run, but then punted with no Panther back to receive. The trick did not work, though, as the Panthers covered the ball on the one-yard line. The half ended with the Panthers up 14-7.

The Panther defense tightened up in the second half and the offense really started clicking. Nate Brunett ran in for six points with 7:01 left in the third. Following a blocked PAT the Panther lead was 20-7. Manhattan was forced to punt and Peyton Loveridge came up with a huge block and recovered the ball on the Manhattan seven-yard line.