By GRAHAM POWELL
Special to The Leader
The Cabot Panthers fought hard to try and earn their first win in conference play Friday night against Little Rock Central but fell short, losing 41-36 at Panther Stadium.
The Panthers appeared to have all but won after taking the lead with less than a minute to go in the game. But Marvell Harris, Central’s speedy standout and nephew to NFL leading rusher Darren McFaddn, broke free on a 38-yard touchdown run on fourth down to give the Tigers the victory.
“We had the lead, we lost it, but the kids didn’t quit. We came back and got the lead, but when you get in open spaces they got some speed. They got the home run hitter and that’s the thing we don’t have. We have to work our way down that field.”
The stands were packed as Cabot celebrated its homecoming, and the Panther offense was solid on its first drive of the game. The Panthers marched down the field on a 10-play drive that ended with sophomore fullback Zach Launius punching it in from three yards out. The PAT was good to give Cabot an early 7-0 lead.
After a three and out on the Tigers’ first possession, Cabot marched down the field with ease on what looked to be another promising drive before fumbling on the Central 11 yard line.
The Tigers recovered, but the offense was still having trouble moving the ball.
On a gutsy call, the Tigers decided to go for it on fourth and inches, on its own 20-yard line. The Tigers tried a quarterback bootleg, but the Panther defense wasn’t fooled as they took down Central quarterback Hayden Wynne in the backfield. The turnover gave the Panther offense the ball at the Central 19 yard line.
With great field position, the Panther offense took only three plays to find the endzone when junior fullback Ian Thompson ran it in from three yards out. The successful PAT from Jesus Marquez gave the Panthers a 14-0 lead with 11:06 left in the half.
After yet another three and out from the Tigers’ offense, Cabot looked to be in control. However, Cabot returner Bryson Morris muffed the punt and Central covered the ball on the Panther 41 yard line.
Four plays later, Central running back Malcolm Robinson ran it in from 10-yards out to keep the Tigers in the game. The successful PAT made the score 14-7 with 8:00 left in the half.
The Panthers got in the endzone again with 3:55 left in the half to increase their lead to 21-7, but Central answered with a five play drive that ended with an 18-yard touchdown run from senior running back Marvell Harris. The PAT was blocked by Chase Boyles to make the score 21-13.
The Panther offense tried to get on the board again before the half, but quarterback Zach Craig was picked off by A.J. Tucker. Tucker’s return set up the Tigers for a makeable field goal, but the attempt was blocked by Brandon Schiefelbein to end the half.
Central (5-2, 3-1) came out strong in the second half when Robinson returned the opening kickoff 95 yards to set up another Central touchdown. After the successful two-point conversion, the score was evened at 21-21.
Both offenses went back and forth from there, but two more scores to Cabot’s one gave Central a 35-28 lead with 7:23 left in the game.
After a Central turnover on Cabot’s 21 yard line, Cabot ran 14 plays, all run plays, before Thompson ran it in with 0:58 left in the game to make the score 35-34. Cabot called timeout and called Thompson’s number again as he drove his way into the endzone to give the Panthers a 36-35 lead with under a minute to play.
“That’s a game we could’ve won,” Cabot coach Mike Malham said. “The kids did play hard, but it’s hard to overcome five turnovers and still have a chance to win the game.
Cabot (1-6, 0-4) outgained the Tigers’ offense with 385 total yards, 369 of those yards coming on the ground. The Tigers put together 362 yards of offense, with 300 coming from the ground.
Launius led the Panthers with 110 yards rushing and a touchdown on 21 carries, while Thompson did his part with 79 yards and three scores on 17 carries.
Central’s standout Harris was the star of the night with 217 yards of total offense and four touchdowns, all of which were on runs.
“I was proud of the way our kids didn’t quit,” Malham said. “They could’ve really hung their heads when we lost the lead, but they kept fighting and we got the lead back. Gosh that clock just didn’t run fast enough there in that last minute.”
Cabot will try and end its six-game losing streak next week when the Panthers travel to Bryant. Kickoff starts at 7 p.m.
The Tigers will host North Little Rock at Verizon Field at Earl Quigley-Bernie Cox Stadium next Friday.
The 5-2 Wildcats defeated Little Rock Catholic 33-17 on Friday to stay in the hunt for the 7A-Central Conference championship.
