Lions Lose a Heartbreaker 21-20 In State Finals

WHS Lions Pride Original Story:

by Alec Parker

Walkersville Lions and Patuxent Panthers played for the 2A championship on December 5. Walkersville lost in a heart breaker 21-20 over the Panthers. This game was good from start to finish with both fans cheering, and football teams playing their hardest.

In the first quarter the Lions started of with the ball, and they pushed the ball down the field in a hurry, scoring the first touchdown of the game in eight plays 63 yards. #5 Chad Gleason scored the touchdown. In the second quarter it started to slow down where both teams had two drives, but no score, so at the half the Lions led 7-0.

At the start of the second half the Lions played good defense stopping the Panthers first drive, getting the ball back. The Lions #5 Chad Gleason made a huge run that pushed the ball into Panther territory, and kept pushing the ball until Gleason ran a 15 yards for his second touchdown of the game, putting the Lions up 14-0. Then the Lion defense started to slow down and the Panther offense started to pass more which created some big plays, and they scored a touchdown, to make 14-7.

In the fourth quarter, the Lions struck again, and yet again  Gleason pulled off a big play to score his third touchdown to put  Walkersville up 20-7, after what turned out to be a crucial missed extra point.

The Panthers continue to pass and scored two more times in the fourth quarter to eventually lead 21-20. With 1 minute left the Panthers kicked off to Jacob Wetzel who broke a big return to the Panthers 35 yard line, but after a few failed running attempts, Billy Gant was forced to pass it on 4th down, where he was sacked, and the Panthers gained possession, and kneeled for the win.

This game was an emotional one especially for the Seniors who have played hard. Seniors like #2 Pat Sichette, #4 Zac Saylor, #8 Etahn High, #11 Bruce Ilaga, #12 Jared Spriggs, #20 Luke Tharpe, #50 Marc Bonilla, #51 Jack Baroudi,and #64 Austin Farinholt, who was injured early in the game, and the rest of the seniors on the 2015 Lions Varsity Team, Thank you for everything you have done for this school. Small Town, Big Dreams.