HS Football – Panthers Stung By Hornets, Season Ends on Road

The Pennfield Panthers made some of the best strides in their return to prominence in the Cereal City's football realm this season with a chance to continue their upward trend at Williamston in a District Final battle Friday.

Our Game of the Night took us to Larkin-Nortman Memorial Stadium in Williamston for the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 4 battle. Pennfield was no stranger to the stadium with their last appearance in the 2018 season opener and three other games in the eight-game series. The tough task for the Green and White was to attempt to end a three-game skid to the Hornets dating back to their playoff match-up in 2009.

It was an interesting contest featuring Williamston's slow, grind-it-down offense against Pennfield's bend, don't break defense. The other question was Pennfield attempting to limit their turnovers, which was point of emphasis following two of their three losses. In the end, the winner faces the victor of the Milan-Redford Union contest Saturday afternoon in the Division 4 - Region 3 final.

The Panthers were just one of two area squads in action in the MHSAA District Finals Friday night. The Olivet Eagles also saw a familiar foe on the road in Lansing Catholic, the defending Division 5 champions. Over the last five seasons, the Cougars of Lansing Catholic eliminated Olivet from the postseason in four of them and each of the last three years.

The recap of our Game of the Night and the scores from the area's final two teams can be seen below.