By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
The Northwest Premier Junior Football League season has officially gotten underway with a total of 21 games being played over a two-day period, and the Central District Panthers had the luxury of hosting this season’s first four games of the season against the HEIR Academy program, as they welcomed players and fans back to Judkins Park.
In honor of their former coach and local business owner, the late D’Vonne Picket, Jr., the CD Panthers hosted a small business pop-up to support the local small business community. The Panthers will continue to host small business pop-up events throughout the season, and will also have a theme for each CD Panthers home game. This past weekend was ‘Welcome back to Judkins Park’, September 9 will be Grandparents Day, September 30 is deemed as Mr. Jackson Day and Homecoming, and their last home game on October 7 will be Teacher Appreciation Day.
The featured game of the week, the CD Panthers 10U versus HEIR 9U stage set the stage as players, coaches, and fans were ready to enjoy the first week of youth football for 2023, and what better way to start the season with none other than a defensive battle from both teams during opening week.
Last season, the current HEIR 9U players won the Northwest Premier Junior League Football championship in the 8U division. Now looking to repeat as back-to-back champions they’re playing up in the 10U division this season and would be tested in their season opener test against a loaded CD Panthers team.
Both offenses got off to a slow start and that’s accredited to the battle at the line of scrimmage. HEIR’s defense was flying all over the field, whether they were forcing incomplete passes, not allowing the Panthers’ rushing attack to find momentum, and fundamentally making tackles, all three things combined to help HEIR them win the turnover battle throughout the game.
Although it appeared HEIR was in control, the Panthers battled back on the defensive end as well they disrupted HEIR’s fast-paced offense, that is accustomed to scoring a lot of points quickly, with their ability to force three-and-outs, deflect passes, and not miss tackles that could’ve led to extra yards downfield. The Panther’s defense, staying true to their game plan held HEIR to just one touchdown heading into halftime.
Despite facing a 6-0 lead, CD Panther Head Coach Deche Washington appreciated the effort his team set forth in their first half of football.
“The team came out with a positive attitude and a chip on their shoulder coming into the first game of the year,” said Washington. “They played good.”
The second half was dominated by HEIR, Tayshawn Stephens’ second touchdown complemented a stellar performance by the HEIR defense, as their combined efforts kept the Panthers out of the endzone and gave HEIR a 12-0 shutout season-opening victory. HEIR 9U’s championship pedigree has propelled them into week two undefeated, and where they will face Gridiron on September 9 at their home field.
Although the CD Panthers lost in their home opener, Coach Washington is confident heading into week two that his team will earn their first win.
“Heir just pulled out the win, there’s no excuses to be made,” said Washington. “We’ll practice, get back to the drawing board to work on some things that we didn’t do and get better. [We’ll] work on our strength and conditioning to compete for four quarters, and we’ll be better next week off that loss.”
