Panthers win first home game ever

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Starr's Mill played their first regular season football game in their new stadium last Friday and the results were a success. Hosting Newnan, The Panthers remained undefeated by winning by a score of 37-35.

The Panthers had a tough time on pass coverage on Friday, with Newnan's Michael Pittman racking up 195 yards receiving. They also fumbled three times on drives near the Cougar goal line. Despite these mistakes, Starr's Mill countered with 377 total yards of offensse and got a huge game from Reuben Houston. Houston had three touchdowns, 152 yards and three amazing kickoff returns. The Panthers also got a 116 yards and a touchdown from Jason Laney, a touchdown from Arlando Hinton and the usual fine performance from Drew Cofty.

Defensively, the Panthers played tremndously exhausting several Newnan drives including the last one, which could have given the Cougars a win. The defensive line played well, including good performances from Tony Tofanelli, Allen Beall, David Clark and Eric Advincula. Andrew Bashakes made a huge play as he intercepted a pass with 16 seconds left to secure the Panthers win.

The Panthers will play Riverdale on Friday at Tara Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
The McIntosh Chiefs traveled to Tara Stadium for a day game against Morrow last Saturday and lost, 39-20. Though there were bright spots; scoring 20 points, throwing two touchdown passes and recording 13 first downs, Coach Butch Prosser was diappointed with the loss.

"We didn't play real well," Prosser said. "We're doing things on the field we have not been coached to do and a lot needs to get better."

The Chiefs recorded 135 yards rushing and 75 yards passing against the Mustangs. Coach Prosser credited Tim Love with playing an outstanding game on both sides of the ball.

The Chiefs will travel to tara Stadium again this saturday for another day game. Their opponent this weekend is Jonesboro (1-1). "They are a real big team," Prosser said. "They have big wide receivers, multiple offenses and if we're going to win, we have to get better at what we do and not make mental mistakes."

In other games last weekend, Sandy Creek (2-1) faced Pickens and won by a score of 34-0. they are ranked sixth in AAAA and have a bye week this week to tune up for a home game against Creekside. The game against Pickens was important for the Patriots, who finally got a chance to have their offense click on all cylinders. The first two games pitted them against some of the top defenses in the state, limiting them to 13 points in two weeks.

The Fayette County Tigers (1-2) had another rough game on Friday, as they were the first team from the area to face Evans, new to the region. The tigers had to travel to face the Knights and the hours on a bus certainly didn't help their cause.

The Tigers put up some points, 18 to be excat, but Evans, a plyoff team last year, scored 34 points for the win. Things don't get easier for Fayette County as they head into Twelve Oaks Stadium on Friday night to take on Lovejoy (2-0).

The Landmark Christian School War Eagles (1-2) faced Athens Academy (3-0) on Friday night and lost, 35-0. Athens Aacdemy is one of the top programs in Class A and is a serious contender for the state title. Landmark is on the road again this week as they travel to face Gordon-Lee (1-2).

East Coweta (2-0) played their second game of the season on Friday and remained undefeated by beating Forest Park, 31-15. The offense has looked good for the Indians and the defense has been good enough to slow their opponents down and to force them to make mistakes. East Coweta has what should be another easy game this friday as they host North Clayton (0-2).

Northgate's offense got another workout this past week too. The Vikings (3-0) faced Carver, Atlanta and won by a score of 48-7. It was the second week in a row that the Vikings exploded offensively, seeing what happens when everything goes right. Things will most likely be different this weekend, when they face Crim (2-0) at Lakewood in Atlanta.

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