By Karrington Kincaid, The Seattle Medium
The heat and dangerous air conditions did not stop the thrilling matchup between the 8U CD Panthers and the 8U Renton Rangers. The music was playing, the crowd was loud, and the kids were excited to show off and play their favorite sport.
Prior to the game, CD Panther 8U Assistant Coach Scott said the team was focused, ready, and he felt really good about their chances to win.
“I feel like we’re ready,” said Scott. “I feel like we’ve got things handled right now, looking like a team, and I think it’s just more mental for us. I just feel like the kids are focused.”
Renton Rangers Head 8U Coach Taye Cheatham had a similar feeling about his team going into this game and expressed confidence in the hard work they had put in.
“I’m confident. I feel like we can come in with a win. My team’s been working hard all week,” said Cheatham. “CD has a good team over there, but I’ve got some hitters over here. It’s better than last year’s team, and it’s better than the year before that. We’re bringing winners over here.”
The CD Panthers started off with a short kick to the Renton Rangers, setting them up with great field position early on. The Rangers tried to set the tone early by running the ball.
Running back Kodi Jones broke loose on a 28-yard run but fumbled in the process, which was recovered by Morgan Carter of the CD Panthers. The Panthers took advantage of the turnover by handing the ball off to the hard-running DeAntre Frazier Jr., who was stiff-arming and running through arm tackles, making it hard for the Rangers’ defense to control the CD offense. However, the Rangers responded by forcing a turnover on downs after CD’s Ronald Phillips Jr. tripped over his feet, allowing the Rangers to retain possession as the first quarter ended with the score tied 0-0.
As the second quarter began, the Panthers’ defense began to show their might. Led by Justyce Dennis, who made numerous plays in the backfield, creating tackles for loss, including one that forced a turnover on downs, the CD Panthers’ defense became a disruptive force. CD’s first possession of the second quarter started with Morgan Carter running through defenders on a hard-earned 3-yard run from the 10-yard line to the 7-yard line. The drive was later finished off with a 7-yard rushing touchdown by Ricky Victoria, giving the Panthers a 7-0 lead after an extra point conversion by Carter.
On their following possession, the Rangers became overwhelmed by the speed of the Panthers’ defense, as they collectively made it hard for the quarterback to get off any plays.
This led to a turnover on downs for the Rangers, giving the Panthers the ball back with another opportunity to score. Ricky Victoria churned out hard-earned yards to get the Panthers into scoring position, before CD quarterback Romeo Penaloza finished the drive with a 19-yard scamper for a touchdown, giving the Panthers a 14-0 lead going into halftime after an extra point conversion by Jaedah Cain.
Coming out of halftime, the Renton Rangers showed great resilience. Defensively, the Rangers played as a unit and made it hard for CD to find their rhythm offensively. The Panthers eventually figured things out after Morgan Carter broke free on a 50-yard touchdown run. However, the Rangers’ defense didn’t back down, stuffing Jarrnaquil “Lil Lewy” Keeley Jr. on the extra point attempt to keep the game within reach at 20-0 in favor of the Panthers. After the score, the Rangers’ defense settled back down and continued to play CD very tough, neutralizing any plays the Panthers attempted as the third quarter came to an end.
The Rangers’ Kodi Jones took off on a 30-yard run, electrifying the Rangers’ offense as they got close to the red zone. However, the Rangers turned the ball over on downs after being stuffed by the Panthers’ Raiden Mathews and Syn’cere Williams.
Renton’s defense seemed to rattle CD quarterback Romeo Penaloza, as he fumbled the ball twice on inaccurate pitches to running back Ronald Phillips Jr. These miscues caused the Panthers to lose 30 yards in total, though Penaloza recovered both fumbles himself.
After going for it on 4th down, CD was stuffed by the Rangers’ defense, giving the ball back to the offense on the Panthers’ 2-yard line. The Rangers took advantage of the stop and scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 2:23 left in the game. The CD Panthers chewed some time off the clock before turning the ball over on a fumble. The Rangers didn’t have enough time to get another score on the board as the clock ticked down to 0, ending the game 20-6 in favor of the CD Panthers.
After the game, Coach Scott was happy with his team’s performance.
“I feel good, man. Coaches did their job, players did their jobs, we did it for the CD,” said Scott.
