Panthers Strike Early and Often, Cruise to Victory Over North Middlesex

The running back tandem of Austin Garvey and Paul Goulet provided plenty of offense for the Panthers as defeated the North Middlesex Patriots 35 – 14 at Kelleher Field in a rain-soaked, Mid-Wach B contest. The Panthers offense, which was averaging just 10.5 points per game entering this contest, exploded for 35 points in the first-half and finished the game with 281 rushing yards. Not to be outdone, their defense surrendered just 14 points, all coming in the second-half with their reserves in the game. The defense also intercepted three passes and recovered two fumbles.

Just 48 seconds into the first quarter the Panthers offense struck when on a 3rd and 6 run, Goulet broke through the defensive line and took the ball 46 yards for a touchdown, giving the Panthers a 6 – 0 lead after a failed extra point. After a quick three and out by the Patriot offense, the Patriot long snapper hiked the ball over the punter’s head on 4th down. The punter recovered the ball in his own end zone, resulting in a safety and an 8 – 0 lead for Marlborough. A touchdown run by Garvey and another missed extra point had the Panthers leading 14 – 0 after the first quarter.

The offense continued to execute in the second quarter, finding the end zone three more times with a touchdown run by quarterback Mike Yates and two more scores by Garvey. “We worked on offense a lot the whole week and we came out running fast and low, “ said Garvey.  “We were able to put some points on the board and made sure we followed our blocks and kept two hands on the ball at all times.”

With a 35 – 0 lead to start the third quarter, many of the Panthers’ starters were given a rest, giving some younger players a chance to see the field. Neither team were able to generate much offense until the Patriots finally found the end zone on a 14 yard run by Brandon Lambert with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was much of the same, with the Patriots adding one more touchdown with 5:12 remaining in the game.

“We were disappointed with last week, and our kids came out refocused. Our first half was outstanding,” said Panthers Head Coach Sean Mahoney. “We are pretty explosive on offense if we protect the ball. The last two weeks we didn’t protect the ball and when you turn it over its hard to win.”

The Panthers, now 2 – 1 and undefeated at home, will look to continue to protect the football next week when the Doherty Memorial Highlanders visit Kelleher Field on Friday, September 30th at 7 p.m. 

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