Panthers Fall to Undefeated Eagles
By Chris Clark
Assistant Sports Information Director
Maplewood High School
The Maplewood Panthers (2-4) battled against the East Nashville Eagles (7-0) this past Friday. The game had potential to be a good one, but the Panthers blew a gasket. The Panthers had many early chances to score as they had the ball inside the Eagles’ red zone on two first quarter drives but eventually fell 36-7. The final score wasn’t indicative of the strong first half the Panthers had, especially on defense.
“We moved the ball early but couldn’t finish drives for some reason,” said Panther Head Coach Arcentae Broome. We felt we had a shot at halftime being only down 14-0. Our defense kept us in the game. The two turnovers killed us. We had one offensive play and looked up and were down 28-0.
Maplewood DE Cody Brown and MLB Gage Smith
The Panthers only score was an exciting 39 yard return by Malik Harris on a blocked punt by Montieon Smith in the fourth quarter. Despite having little success on offense, the defense featured a few energetic stars. Panthers’ LB Juantarius Bryant led the defense with 17 tackles. Bryant got to the Eagle QB Isiah Upton for two sacks for a total of 27 yards lost. Bryant was in the Eagle backfield most of the night as he finished the game with 4.5 tackles for loss.
“We had a good game plan going into the game against them,” said Bryant. The coaches put me in good positions to make plays. I am very disappointed that the game got away from us. We will have to regroup and play harder.”
After missing the previous game due to injury, Panthers MLB Gage Smith had an up and down game. He ended the game with 14 total tackles. Despite not being 100%, Smith showed the dedication and leadership he’s known for. The junior leads the state in tackles with 91.
Freshman QB Raymon Mitchell couldn’t get his offense going in the second half. Mitchell ended the game with eight completions on 18 attempts. He had a total of two interceptions, one of which was deflected. His passes seemed a bit off target, but he had one bullet pass that showed the potential in his arm. Mitchell had no help from his offensive line as he was scurrying around on multiple occasions.
Veteran running back Daronta Nelson showed his will to win despite his team being down. He finished the game with 94 yards on 14 carries. He had multiple runs where he seemed as if he could go all the way, but the holes closed fast. In result, the offense generated no points.
Maplewood Assistant Sports Information Director Travis Rainey
The Panthers will be at Panther Stadium for the second time this season to face off Goodpasture Christian School. They look to battle at home and get the third win this season for their fans. Catch that game this Friday at 7 p.m.
Chris Clark is a junior at Maplewood High School participating in the WTNTribune Radio Sports Information Director Program. Chris’ dream is to work for ESPN.
METRO STANDINGS
| TEAM | METRO | SEASON | DISTRICT | ||||
| 1 | Hillsboro | 5–0 | 7–0 | 5–0 | 12AAA | Bye | |
| 2 | East | 5–0 | 7–0 | 3–0 | 10AA | Bye | |
| 3 | Pearl-Cohn | 3–0 | 6–1 | 3–0 | 10AA | Bye | |
| 4 | McGavock | 3–1 | 6–1 | 3–1 | 12AAA | vs. #7 Hunters LN | |
| 5 | Overton | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 12AAA | Bye | |
| 6 | Cane Ridge | 2–2 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 12AAA | at #12 Glencliff | |
| 7 | Hunters Lane | 3–3 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 12AAA | at #4 McGavock | |
| 8 | Maplewood | 2–1 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 10AA | vs. Goodpasture | |
| 9 | Antioch | 1–3 | 1–6 | 1–3 | 12AAA | at #11 Hillwood | |
| 10 | Stratford | 0–2 | 1–6 | 0–3 | 10AA | Bye | |
| 11 | Hillwood | 0–4 | 0–6 | 0–3 | 12AAA | vs. #9 Antioch | |
| 12 | Glencliff | 0–6 | 0–7 | 0–4 | 12AAA | vs. Cane Ridge | |
| 13 | Whites Creek | 0–4 | 0–7 | 0–3 | 10AA | at CPA | |
Metro Wrap Up
By McKinley Young Jr.
WTNTribune Radio Sports Correspondent
Upton’s four touchdowns lead East Nashville to seventh straight win
East Nashville Isiah Upton put on a show Friday night in the WTNTribune Radio Sports Game of the Week against Maplewood. In the District 10AA matchup, Upton had 330 yards of total offense running for 205 yards and three touchdowns and a passing touchdown to Devarius Cortner, as the Eagles roll to a 36-7 victory against Maplewood. Upton has committed to play football at Middle Tennessee State University next season, and he showed Blue Raider nation what to expect from him for the next four years.
East Nashville WR Devarius Cortner
Burros defense and running game lead them to stay undefeated
Hillsboro defense only allowed Antioch to gain 71 yards of total offense to help Hillsboro win 27-0 Friday night. The Burros gained 265 yards on the ground to control the clock and pull out the victory. DeAndre Alexander had 130 yards and a touchdown, while his running mate Vincent Perry added 115 and a touchdown.
Firebirds dismantle Cobras to stay unbeaten in District
Pearl-Cohn’s quarterback Jimmy Ferrell went 4-6 152 yards and four touchdowns as the Firebirds cruised to 61-6 victory over Whites Creek heading into their bye week. Receiver Nassir Bigham had two catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns, while all-state running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn added 103 yards and four touchdowns.
WTNTribune Radio Sports Game of the Week
This week the team of McKinley Young Jr. and JaQuan Johnson (Jr. & Jr.) will be live at McGavock High School tomorrow as the McGavock Raiders hosts the Hunters Lane High School Warriors.
Hunters Lane High School
McGavock is coming off a big victory over Hillwood High School 46-6 to improve their record to 6-1 (3-1 in District 12 AAA). The only lost for the Raiders came at the hands of the #1 ranked team in Metro Hillsboro High School. Hunters Lane came up just short when they faced Cane Ridge High School last week 32-27. That lost for Hunters Lane dropped their record to 3-4 (1-2 in District 12 AAA).
The game should be a hard hitting, physical, defense first football game. The broadcast starts at 7:00 p.m.
The WTNTribune Radio Sports Bordeaux Eagle Pee Wee Player of the Game Laprince Beech
Bordeaux Eagles Pee Wee prepare to go to battle