By STEPHEN DAWKINS | Special to the Reporter
LEEDS – A late tie-breaking touchdown was the difference in the Pelham Panthers’ 35-28 loss at the Leeds Greenwave on Friday, Oct. 25 at Leeds High School.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, Pelham coach Mike Vickery said that his team continue to grow and learn from experience.
“Overall, we’ve gotten better, and we’re continuing to improve and get some young guys some valuable minutes,” Vickery said. “Our effort and want-to has been really good. The kids are still working to get better and try to win.”
The Panthers (1-8 overall, 1-5 in Class 6A, Region 3) trailed 21-7 at halftime, but outscored their hosts in the second half.
Kalib Porter scored the second of his two rushing touchdowns with about six minutes remaining to tie the game, but Leeds (8-2 overall) put together a long drive that drained all the time on the clock.
The Greenwave scored with 13 seconds remaining to seal the win.
“They were able to keep the ball from us,” Vickery said. “We had three possessions in the first half and four possessions in the second half. We didn’t have many opportunities on offense because they did a good job of converting first downs.”