Three quarters into its second game of the season, the Montezuma-Cortez High School football team appeared to be in complete control.
Late game miscues doomed the Panthers, however, as the team lost a road matchup to Miyamura High School, 37-36, on Sept. 5.
After the two teams played to a 14-14 stalemate in the first half, M-CHS seized control in the third quarter, outscoring Miyamura 22-7 to take a 36-21 lead into the fourth.
Miyamura stormed back in the final quarter with an interception, an onside kick recovery and two touchdowns.
“We just couldn’t get it done in the end, I guess,” said Panthers head coach Casey Coulter. “We left five points on the board just by missing kicks.”
Leading the Panthers in the loss was senior running back Randy Haley, who rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
“(Haley) did exactly what he was supposed to do,” said Coulter. “He did a great job and ran his butt off.”
Senior Jonathan Walck led the Panthers in passing with 126 yards, while junior Austin Bayless led the Panthers in receiving with 126 yards.
Ryan Gurney, Noah Galyon, and Jonathan Walck all scored touchdowns for the Panthers.
“After watching the film, (the team) played a lot better than we thought it did during the game,” said Coulter. “We just need to clean up the mistakes.”
On the defensive side of the ball the Panthers were led by Haley and Victor Perez, both of whom recorded ten tackles.
With their record now at 1-1 on the season, the Panthers will return to the practice field to prepare for a home matchup against Grand Junction Central. The game will take place at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12.
“(Grand Junction Central) runs a spread offense, but it’s nothing that we haven’t seen,” said Coulter. “We just need to execute and clean up our mistakes.