It was a matchup mostly dominated by defense on Friday night, as the Vandals and Pana Panthers matched up at Mark Greer Field, with Pana coming from behind to beat the Vandals, 21 to 14, in the season opener for both teams.
Pana got on the board first with 3 minutes remaining in the 1st quarter on a Wyatt Kile to Cash Lynch 25 yard TD pass. The PAT was good to make it 7 to 0. Pana would then make it a two score lead with a 23 yard TD run from Brayden Carlson at the 9:56 mark of the 2nd quarter. The Vandals blocked the PAT attempt so Pana led 13 to 0. The Vandals would get on the board at the 6:08 mark of the 3rd quarter when Qwentyn Stombaugh got in the end zone on a 5 yard TD run. The PAT was good to make it 13 to 7 Pana at Halftime.
After a scoreless 3rd quarter, the Vandals would get back on the board with a 4 yard TD run from Stombaugh with 8:58 remaining. The PAT was good to give the Vandals a 14 to 13 lead. Pana answered, however, with a 3 yard TD run from Parker Moore with 5:42 remaining. The 2 point conversion was good to give Pana the full 7 point lead at 21 to 14. After each team had a possession, the Vandals got one last shot in the last 90 seconds of the game. But, Pana intercepted an Andrew Casey pass and then were able to run out the clock.
For the Vandals they are now 0-1 on the season. It’s not an usual spot, as the Vandals have now lost 3 of their last 4 season openers, all to Pana. The Vandals will head on the road this Friday night as they head to Staunton to take on the Bulldogs.
