Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

Last year was the first time since 2019 that the Pelham Panthers missed out on playing postseason football, and like 2023, it will be another tough road to return to November in 2024.

For as much as Pelham’s 2023 team was carried by its senior class, including leaders like Clayton Mains, Will Felton and Bishop Rellah, it was also a year that saw Mike Vickery’s team have to fill multiple position gaps, either from graduating seniors or mid-season injuries.

That led to plenty of challenges and a second straight .500 season as the Panthers win total decreased for the third straight season since 2020’s 8-3 region title campaign.

Now with another wave of seniors gone, it will be down to this young Pelham side to come together quickly and prove its worth against another difficult Class 6A, Region 3.

With just 12 seniors suiting up for the Panthers this season, a good chunk of the starters will be juniors or younger. Because of that though, they can use this season’s experience to prepare for the future.

Pelham will have some returning skill position players back on offense, including running back Kalib Porter and receivers Jacob Gibbs, Marcus Arnold and Tristan Darden. However, all of them will be stepping into bigger roles with the departures of Mike Grayson, CJ Tolbert and others.

That experience will be key because the rest of the offense doesn’t have much. The Panthers will have just one senior on the line in Rylan Hoyette and a new quarterback in either Dylan Smith or Logan Strunk.

The defensive side does bring some key upperclassmen like seniors Javian Gee and Hunter Drawhorn as well as juniors Uriah Abarganer and Joe Hampton, although many of them will be switching positions from their roles last season.

All in all, that’s at least one starter that needs to be replaced in every position group aside from special teams. That means this team will need to come together and fast in order to compete.

Most of the region also got better over the offseason and Spain Park and Chelsea dropped down to make last year’s non-region showdowns into region games with real playoff stakes, so the road will not be easy.

Pelham will also have a brutal final three weeks of region play against the likely top three teams in the region: Spain Park, Helena and Benjamin Russell. However, two of those games will be at home, and that also means the Panthers have the chance to string together some wins early on.

In order to get going, they’ll need to lean on that athleticism, particularly in the run game with Porter, while the new pieces come together into a more complete unit.

I have no doubt that Vickery will have his team prepared to take the field, but between last season’s disappointment, this year’s young group and an improving region, it’ll be an uphill climb to stop the slide and get back to the playoffs.

 

Prediction: 4-6. All signs point to this being a rebuilding year for Pelham. With multiple big spots to fill and a plethora of youth taking those spots, the Panthers will need to mature quickly on the field.

The good news is the defense has multiple proven players leading that side of the ball who can make plays and bring along the younger players, and over on offense, there’s plenty of potential at each of the skill positions.

Dylan Smith, Kalib Porter, Marcus Arnold and Tristan Darden succeeded after being thrown into the fire last season and should reap the reward of an improved season this year alongside the returning Jacob Gibbs.

There are plenty of opportunities for victories on their schedule this season, but with the top end of the region getting even better, the margin of error for making the playoffs is thin. Much of their chances will depend on how they handle the stretch before their final three region games against Spain Park, Helena and Benjamin Russell.

The future definitely looks bright for the Panthers and it will be up to the players to maximize their potential in hopes of realizing their playoff dreams sooner.