By Andrea Arens
It was a close game with no scores at the end of the first quarter but that ended in the 2nd.
Senior Panther Niko Akiyama started off the scoring spree in the 2nd quarter with a 12 yard run for a touchdown. The Reed-Custer Comets answered with a 25 yard pass for a touchdown.
The Comets score again in the 3rd to take the lead but it wasn’t long before Panther Akiyama answered twice. First with a 36 yard run for a touchdown and again for an 11 yard run for another touchdown, putting the Panthers on top.
The Comets scored again in the 3rd to make it 21-19, Panthers, but Akiyama brought the heat in the 4th with another 23 yard run for a touchdown to end the game 27-19.
Quarterback Connor Harrod passed for 60 yards, 46 rushing.
Akiyama rushed for 249 yards and a total for 4 touchdowns.
Defense was led by Tyson Clodi with 7 tackles and 1 assist. Tyler Buehler had 4 tackles. Evan Borkenhagen had 3 tackles and 2 assists.
Panthers remain undefeated at 7-0. They move on to play the other undefeated team in the conference, last year’s state champs, the Wilmington Wildcats at home. The finish the season away at Coal City on October 25.