Heart breaking is the only word that comes to mind when describing the Nease Panthers’ 14-13 road loss against Fletcher on Friday night.
That feeling was expressed on the faces of the players after the game once the final whistle blew.
The Senators (4-3, 3-0) took their first lead of the game after they ran for a 1-yard touchdown and converted the extra point with 17 seconds remaining.
“We’ve been through a lot of adversity, but this one hurts, and you go into the bye week now so you have to think about it a long time,” Nease head coach Collin Drafts said.
Prior to the Senators’ late score, the Panthers (5-3, 3-1) had been the team out front and in control for much of the night.
Nease jumped out to a 10-0 halftime lead thanks to Samuel Milton powering in a score at the goal line and Cannan Kimball connected on a field goal from 30-plus yards.
Fletcher drove down and scored on a 27-yard touchdown pass on its opening drive of the second half to cut the deficit to three.
Nease responded with a successful scoring drive of their own capped by a Kimball drilling a 40-yard field goal. To extend the lead, 13-7 at the end of the third quarter
However, despite pushing the ball down the field at times, the Panthers were unable to consistently convert those drives into points on the scoreboard, especially of the touchdown variety.
According to Drafts, for the second straight week the Panthers encountered a game where the little things and the key plays were not being made when they were needed most on offense, defense and special teams.
“These last two weeks on offense, we’re just not clicking,” Drafts said. “I’ll take a lot of that on me, because I call the plays. We’ve got to put them in positions to execute and then we’ve got to go out and execute.”
The Panthers had the ball and were driving in the fourth quarter deep into Senators’ territory looking to make it a two-possession game.
However, penalties pushed back the Panthers and Kimball wound up missing a 30-yard field goal which setup the Senators at their own 20-yard line with less than five minutes left.
Fletcher wound up marching down the field and eventually ended the drive with the game-winning touchdown.
Kimball was a major contributor for the Nease offense all night long, having made two kicks prior to the late miss.
Drafts knows that he is regarded as one of the best kickers in the area and knows that he is a vital part of the team’s success.
“I love him and I trust him,” Drafts said. “He’s probably going to have a chance to make a kick to win the Fleming (Island) game or sometime in the playoffs and he’s going to do it.”
The loss impacts their chances of winning the District 3-7A title, because now Fletcher controls its destiny, but Nease still has a golden opportunity to finish district runner-up with a win over Fleming Island in two weeks.
Sharks cannot hold early lead against Stingrays
It was all Ponte Vedra Sharks in the early going against the host Atlantic Coast Stingrays, as they jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
However, the Sharks would only manage three points the rest of the way, while the Stingrays (4-3, 1-2) piled on the points and won 34-13.
The loss drops the Sharks to a record of 3-5 overall and 1-3 in District 3-7A.
The Sharks have a bye week before wrapping up the district slate on senior night against Fletcher Oct. 29.
