Game of the Week (2) Recap

Jamie Bryant (above) slips in for one of his two touchdown receptions

PANTHERS REBOUND AGAINST CHIEFS
Related article: Watch Bernie Armstrong’s interviews from this game

MERIDEN, CT- The Connecticut Panthers held the upstart CT Chiefs to under 70 yards of offense in the second half in their 31-18 victory at Falcon Field.
The Chiefs opened the game with a 67 yard drive culminating in an acrobatic 6 yard scoring catch by Jerome Cunningham. “They came out ready to play” said linebacker Court Sutherland, “We figured some things out after that drive and played solid the rest of the way I feel”. The following series saw Panthers linebacker Gerald Patrick pick off a Dino Mancinelli pass, slide stepped a tackler and run over another for a 25 yard interception return for a touchdown.

Offensively the Panthers relied on quarterback Rich Snowden and receiver Jamie Bryant. Late in the first quarter Snowden hit Bryant on a 29 yard touchdown catch. A bad snap on the extra point attempt was scooped up by Chiefs Niko Sierra and returned for a safety. In the second quarter Snowden found Bryant again for a 37 yard reception which set up the Panthers deep in Chiefs territory. A one yard scoring plunge by Snowden gave the Panthers an 18-11 lead heading into the half.

Andrew Pratt (44) and Panthers defenders didn’t allow Akeem Wright a catch the entire game Saturday evening

The second half saw the Panthers defense overwhelm the offensive line of the Chiefs. Ends David Reese (3 sacks and 4 pass deflections) and Dustin Linden (3 sacks) ran ramped the remainder of the game as the Chiefs only converted 3 first downs in the second half. Snowden again found Bryant for an 11 yard scoring reception as the quarter expired to give the Panthers a 14 point lead going into the final quarter.

A late push by the Chiefs saw Mancinelli connect with Anthony Jubles for an 11 yard score to cut the lead in half. “We had this happen to us last week” said Snowden, “we let the Militia back in the game and we didn’t close them out; we had to close the Chiefs out and secure the win”. On the ensuing kickoff, Bryant took the ball towards the home sideline before he reversed fields and sprinted up the field for a 44 yard return setting the ball inside the 20 yard line of the Chiefs. Going deep into their bag of tricks, a Snowden lateral to Bryant saw him pull up and complete a pass in the end zone to receiver Ty Marshall for the final score of the game. “We drew it up at halftime” said Bryant, “we had that play if we needed it and we made it work”.

The Panthers travel to Danbury next weekend and look exact some revenge on the Western CT Militia. The Militia defeated the Panthers 19-18 week one. “We’re looking forward to getting back on the field with them guys (Militia)” said Bryant, “as always it will be a great game”.

David Reese (99) and the Panthers had their eyes on Mancinelli (5) all night

Game Stats

BOXSCORE

TOTAL OFFENSE

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