Going into last Thursday night’s matchup with Dayton at Turner Stadium, the Kingwood Park Panthers faced a must-win situation.
A win over the Dayton Broncos would keep the Panthers playoff hopes alive, though they would still need some help to get in.

The Panthers playoff hopes live on, thanks to a 26-7 win that put the Panthers at 3-3 for the district and for the season.

In this critical game, it didn’t take the Panthers long to jump out in front. On Dayton’s second play from scrimmage, Eric Forrest recovered a Dayton fumble.

One play later, Daniel Breskow found Bryson Jackson for a 27-yard touchdown for a 7-0 Panthers lead, less than a minute in.

By the end of the first quarter, the Panthers led 17-0, adding a Logan Bartholomew 9-yard touchdown run and a 30-yard field goal by Gage Guerra.

The Panthers added another field goal for a seemingly comfortable 20-0 halftime lead; in the entire first half, Dayton had just two first downs.

In the second half, Dayton put the onus back on the Panthers with a quick touchdown drive that ended with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Keyth Williams to Vontrae Joiner that cut the lead to 20-7.

But the Panthers defense responded by shutting out Dayton the rest of the half. Eventually, Immanuel McElroy sealed the win and capped the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown catch late in the fourth.

HUMBLE
The Wildcats tough season continues as the Wildcats lost 28-13 to Porter; the Wildcats are now 1-5 for the district, and season, with two games left.

ATASCOCITA
In District 21-6A, the Eagles’ impressive run continues as they dispatched Baytown Sterling 45-7; the Eagles improve to 5-0 in 21-6A and 6-1 for the year.

SUMMER CREEK
The Bulldogs bounced back with a 34-7 win over Kingwood; the Bulldogs are now 4-1 in district and 5-2 for the season while Kingwood drops to 2-3 and 2-5, respectively.

This week, Atascocita is at home for C.E. King Saturday, Kingwood Park is at Splendora Friday night, Kingwood hosts Sterling Friday night, Humble faces Crosby at home Thursday night and Summer Creek is at Channelview Friday night.

Author: Erich EisenachEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I am proud to be this area’s Tribune Newspaper voice for Humble, Atascocita, Kingwood, Kingwood Park and Summer Creek High School athletics, a capacity I have served in since the fall of 2011. High school sports are something I have grown to love since I started in this position, watching young kids live out their dreams in competition throughout the area and throughout the state. My greatest thrill in this position was being on Floor Eight at NRG Stadium in December of 2016 when Atascocita High School qualified for the state football semifinals for the first time. Aside from reporting sports, I am a regular parishioner of St. Martha Catholic Church of Kingwood. I am also a two-time graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications, and am a proud, but realistic, Nebraska Cornhuskers supporter. I do root for Houston’s local sports teams, but the Huskers are my team forever.

• Huffman softball hopes to resume season
• Eagles lead softball, baseball district play as sports take halt
• Summer Creek basketball season run ends at semifinals after making history
• 22-6A boys basketball teams prepare for playoffs
• Atascocita men win rubber match, keep district title hopes alive