By Randy Arrington
SHENANDOAH, Sept. 15 — The Page County Panthers came up just short on a fourth-and-four late in the fourth quarter to drop a heart-breaking, 36-35, non-district loss to visiting King and Queen High School on Friday night at Buddy Comer Stadium.
Both teams entered Friday’s game searching for the their first win of the season, and the game remained relatively close most of the way. After a slow and sluggish start by both squads, 41 of the game’s 71 points would be scored in the second quarter. While the Panthers were only whistled for two penalties all night (both in the second half), Page did turn the ball over on fumbles in two of their first three possessions.
The Royal Tigers scored first on their second possession after putting together a five-play drive that covered 48 yards. Senior Patricio Carcamo ended the drive with the first of four touchdown receptions on the night from 22 yards out. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the score at 6-0 with 4:38 remaining in the first period.
With just under nine minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Panthers went on a 21-0 run in just over three minutes. A blocked punt lead to the first score to take a 7-6 lead. King and Queen’s only turnover of the game then left Page with the ball on the Tigers’ 7-yard-line. Two plays later, senior quarterback Hunter Pettit rambled in from two yards out. A successful onside kick then gave the Panthers the ball once again in good field position, resulting in another two-play drive, ending with junior Ace Campbell breaking away for 46 yards to make the score 21-6 with 5:32 still remaining in the half.
King and Queen then put together a nine-play drive covering 65 yards, with junior Jadyn Nelson scoring the Tigers’ second touchdown from nine yards out to make the score 21-12. Page answered right back, covering 53 yards in just three plays as Pettit scored his second touchdown from one-yard out making the score now 27-12 with 1:13 left in the half.
The Tigers added one more score before the half on four plays covering 73 yards and ending with Carcamo scoring his second touchdown on a 50-yard reception. That left the score at 27-20 in favor of the Panthers at the break.
King and Queen opened the third quarter with a long, nine-play, 50-yard drive. Carcamo then caught his third touchdown pass from 11 yards out. A successful two-point conversion from junior Mekhi Dabney gave the Tigers’ their first lead since the first quarter at 28-27.
The Panthers answered back again with a six-play drive covering 56 yards. Sophomore Isaac Foltz caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Pettit to retake the lead 35-28. While Page had nine offensive possessions in the first two quarters, they would only have three in the second half.
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers put together a 14-play drive that lasted nearly six minutes. Carcamo caught his fourth and final touchdown pass with 7:10 remaining in the game. The 10-yard reception and another successful two-point conversion by Dabney put the final points on the board at 36-35.
The Panthers made a strong push in their final possession. Page ran 13 plays, gained three first downs and covered about 43 yards before coming up just short on a fourth-and-four with 2:40 on the clock.
Due to his 46-yard touchdown run, Campbell lead the Panthers with 54 yards on six carries. The real workhorse for the Page ground game was senior Nick Moore, who had 49 tough yards on 13 carries. Pettit went 7-for-14 through the air, with about 130 yards passing and one touchdown. The senior QB also scored two rushing touchdowns.
The Tigers relied heavily on three players — Carcamo, who caught nine passes for 160 yards and four touchdowns; and Nelson and Dabney on the ground. Both running backs recorded over 100 yards for the game, and both had 25 or more carries.
With the loss, Page County falls to 0-4 on the season. The Panthers opened the season with three-straight road games, falling 49-6 to Washington (W.Va.) on Aug. 25; then 52-38 at Bath County on Sept. 1; and 35-0 at East Rockingham on Sept. 11.
Next up, the Panthers will celebrate Homecoming this Friday night, Sept. 22, as they host the Generals of Mt. View for a Bull Run District matchup. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
For full schedules, rosters and standings — check out the Bull Run District website.
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