By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— Jackson-Olin took down the Pelham Panthers 20-7 in an almost shutout game Sept. 11. Pelham’s inability to defend the big plays resulted in two touchdowns off big catches, and the young Panthers were unable to produce consistent offense.

The Mustangs opened up early by capitalizing off blown coverage and striking with a 68-yard touchdown completion to Angelo Brown. This gave Jackson-Olin an early lead with 10:20 left in the first, and Brown went on to catch a second touchdown pass to end the quarter.

Pelham started the second quarter with promise, but missed a field goal after marching down the field. This trend continued after the Panthers recovered a dropped punt, but were unable to find the in zone.

One additional field goal by the Mustangs ended the half at 17-0. Starting the second half, the Panthers looked good as they put together a sustained drive into the red zone. However, they were unable to punch the ball in and the drive ultimate resulted in a second missed field goal.

Jackson-Olin used this to their advantage, putting together a drive of their own and answering with a field goal. The score remained 20-0 until the last three minutes of the game when the Panthers found their fire.

Runs by quarterback Griffin Rivers, key catches by Jolen Smith and a touchdown reception by Brandon Sledge put the Panthers on the board for the first time all night. They refused to go quietly and recovered a on-side kick, driving down into the red zone.

Ultimately the Panthers could not finish the drive and time expired 20-7 Mustangs.

“We waited too late to get anything going on offense. We had a lot of missed opportunities in the first half,” said head coach Tom Causey. “I thought our defense played well enough to win with the exception of a couple plays. If we’d taken advantage of the opportunities we had in the first half, who know what would’ve happened. We’ve just got to learn to make those plays when we get the chance.”

Rivers finished out the night 23-31 in passes with 90-yards, and Smith had 11 catches with 72-yards. Junior Jon Drake led the team with 12 tackles followed by senior Connor Christian with nine. Junior and senior Jerry Spillers and Malik Copeland both recovered fumbles.