By Karrington Kincaid, The Seattle Medium
In one of the most anticipated matchups of the NW Premier Junior Football League playoffs, the 8U CD Panthers took on the 8U Gridiron team for a chance to play for the league championship next weekend. The CD Panthers, who came into the game as the underdog, had a chip on their shoulder as many people had written them off prior to the game.
“You know right now we’re the underdog and there’s one team that we must beat and that’s what we’re going to do,” said CD Panthers 8U Head Coach Treon Swafford prior to the game. “Football is any given Saturday or any given Sunday, so we have to come out and play and be ready to go.”
Gridiron, who was making their first appearance as a franchise in NW Premier, was not taking the moment for granted.
“Today is a good day for us,” said Coach King of the Gridiron 8U team. “This is the first year for [our 8U team], so to make the playoffs is an honor and this is going to be a fun matchup.”
The game started off with great defense from both teams with Gridiron’s defense shutting down the Panthers’ offense on the game’s first possession. Gridiron took advantage of the opportunity that the defense gave them by running the ball efficiently, which led to a 53-yard touchdown run by AJ Burns midway through the first quarter to give Gridiron a 6-0 lead.
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The Panthers, led by Dhani Newton, would respond with a touchdown drive of their own. Newton would gash his way through the Gridiron defense, including a 15-yard run that set up a red zone opportunity for the Panthers. The Panthers would capitalize on the opportunity with a one-yard touchdown run by Jeffery Cook, who would also convert the 1-point conversion to give the Panthers a 7-6 lead.
Both teams would play outstanding defense for the rest of the first quarter and most of the second quarter. The chess match finally came to an end during the final minutes of the second quarter, as the Panthers drove down to the Gridiron 2-yard line. After a series of penalties, the Panthers put the ball on the ground on a bad snap which was recovered by Gridiron.
With about a minute and a half to go in the half, the Panthers were close to forcing Gridiron into a three and out, but a controversial pass interference call against the Panthers kept Gridiron’s drive alive. Gridiron would capitalize on the penalty by scoring on a 21-yard touchdown run by Eli Fuiava.
As the second half began, the Panthers came out firing on all cylinders. The Panthers’ defense would force Gridiron into a quick three and out. As soon as Gridiron punted the ball away, Newton responded with a huge punt return to give CD the ball in Gridiron’s red zone. With great field position on the Panthers’ first offensive drive of the half, Newton would punch the ball in on a 4-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 13-13.
Throughout the third quarter going into the fourth, the Panthers’ defense remained stout as they forced numerous three and outs on Gridiron’s following possessions. The Panthers would take advantage of an opportunity and drive down the field, as Jeffery Cook would score the game-winning touchdown, and walk away with a 19-13 victory over Gridiron.
After the game, CD Panthers’ Head Coach Treon Swafford was extremely happy with the way his team played and responded to adversity.
“These guys fought so hard today,” said Swafford. “Even if calls didn’t go our way or situations didn’t go our way we battled to the very end and got this win… It doesn’t get better than that.”
Even though they were disappointed with the outcome of the game, Gridiron knows that their team and players will be better in the long run because of the experience.
“We’ve started a little bit late today, but we’ve come a long way to get here,” said Assistant Coach Andrew of the Gridiron 8U team. “Having this experience to learn from will only make us better moving forward and this is just the beginning of what we can really do in this league.”
With the win, the CD Panthers’ 8U team advances to the championship game that takes place next weekend.
