Home Page Sports

The lights were bright, the crowd was loud, and the air was electric Friday night as the North Penn-Mansfield Panthers hosted the Muncy Indians for Homecoming at Island Park. Fans packed the stands following the evening parade down Main Street, ready for a night of football and celebration — but despite a gritty effort, the Panthers came up short, falling 21–9.

Muncy threatened early on their opening drive, but the Panther defense quickly made a statement. On fourth and long, the Indians’ quarterback was forced to scramble and was taken down hard by defensive lineman Sudan Benner, halting the drive and firing up the home crowd.

The Panthers answered with a strong offensive push. Facing third and ten deep in their own territory, Bradley Brooks connected with Luke Kreger on the outside for a crucial first down — and a Muncy penalty tacked on even more yardage. Kreger struck again soon after, pulling in another pass to bring the Panthers inside the red zone.

Unable to find the end zone, North Penn-Mansfield sent out Brody Grinnell, who drilled a field goal to give the Panthers a 3–0 lead with just over a minute left in the first quarter.

But in the second quarter, Muncy’s offense came alive. Quarterback Andrew Walters found Gavin Barrows over the middle to move the chains, then finished the drive himself with a short run into the end zone, giving the Indians a 7–3 advantage after the extra point.

The Panther defense held strong later in the half, stopping Muncy at the goal line and forcing a missed field goal attempt before both defenses clamped down to close out the half.

At halftime, the crowd turned its attention to the Homecoming festivities. Bradley Brooks and Kameron Lightner were crowned King and Queen for North Penn-Mansfield, while Evan McTish and Haley Litzelman received the honors for North Penn-Liberty.

When play resumed, the defensive battle continued until late in the third quarter, when Walters again powered through the line for another Muncy touchdown, extending the lead to 14–3.

The Panthers struck back early in the fourth. Freshman quarterback Peyton Greene executed a clever fake handoff before flipping the ball to Kreger, who cut inside and burned the Muncy secondary for a long touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but the Panthers closed the gap to 14–9.

Muncy sealed the game late in the fourth when Layken Harris broke free on the outside and dove across the goal line for the final score of the night. The Indians’ defense held firm for the remainder of the game, securing the 21–9 win.

The Panthers will look to bounce back this Friday as they host the Troy Trojans.