INMAN, S.C. – Depending on what shade of blue was worn on Friday night, it was either stunned silence or utter jubilation.
In front of a near-capacity crowd at Panther Stadium, the Byrnes Rebels made the short trip up Highway 292 for the third meeting in as many years with the Chapman Panthers. After a slow start, the Panthers responded in the second half for a thrilling 17-14 victory over the Rebels. The victory is the third in program history for the Panthers over the Rebels and the first one since 1962. Byrnes finished a five-play drive with a 34 yard Andrew Stevens to Armoni Weaver touchdown pass, which made it a 7-0 Rebel lead just over a minute into the game. Tre Segarra added a 42 yard touchdown run, extending the Rebels’ lead to 14-0 with 1:40 to play in the opening frame. “We knew at halftime that we weren’t tired,” said Chapman head coach Harry Cabaniss. “We had so much left in the tank. I don’t know if it was practicing at night this week and saving them (from the heat). We fed them snacks and hydration three times a day this week. It’s just family – that’s all it is. It’s different when you’re playing for a family than a team.” The Panthers turned the opening drive of the second half into points as Jackson Visoury knocked through a 22 yard field goal less than two minutes into the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 14-3. Early in the final stanza, Chapman linebacker Reece Lynch forced a fumble that Khamari Turner recovered on the Panther 46 with 9:49 to play. On the ensuing Panther possession, Coleman Gray found Bennett Smith on a 14 yard pass for a first down that kept the drive alive. Mathai Scott ripped off a first down run for the Panthers. Following a defensive facemask penalty, Gray powered his way through a crowd for a nine yard touchdown and cut the score down to 14-10 with 7:58 remaining. “We knew that even though we weren’t as deep as them, we knew that we had more stamina than them,” Smith exclaimed. “We didn’t have as many rotators, but we kept pushing and made big plays. We missed a couple in the first half, but they started clicking in the second half. We stayed true to ourselves and got the job done.” On the next series, Chapman linebacker Dawson Walters jarred the ball loose from a ball carrier and Seth Bowling pounced on the pigskin at the Panther 43. Two plays later, Gray found Shawn Cunningham for a 22 yard completion up to the Byrnes 34 with six minutes to go. On second and goal from the two yard line, a two yard Keanu Na touchdown run gave Chapman its first lead, 17-14, with 3:31 left in regulation. After an exchange of punts, Byrnes took over at its own one yard line with 58 seconds to go. However, a Byrnes pass attempt deep downfield was intercepted by Cunningham with 34 seconds left, which sealed the win for the Panthers. “We were ready for this late game (situation),” Gray stated. “We practiced all week, mostly at seven o’clock and did not end until nine. We have kids – my brothers – that will fight. We didn’t care about losing yards or incomplete passes – we just had a ‘next play’ mentality. I would say that it was a good game that we proved a lot of things. We want to go 1-0 every week that we step on the field.” Next up for Chapman (2-0) is a road matchup on Friday, September 1st against the Boiling Springs Bulldogs. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 PM. Comments are closed.
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