Panthers' defence dominant in convincing win

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The Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers found themselves with a tall task on Friday. That being contain, Notre Dame Jugglers quarterback Caleb Parrotta, who has been driving defensive coordinators up the wall all season long. The Panthers didn't just contain Parrotta, they flat-out shut him and the Jugglers' offence down on their way to a 35-9 victory.

The Panthers' defence didn't give the Jugglers' signal caller a chance all afternoon. The second the ball was snapped, it was a party in the Jugglers' backfield.

LT's defensive line attacked with impeccable discipline in their rush lanes, and because of it, even Parrotta, who has had dozens of Houdini-esque escapes this season, had no lane to exit the pocket or time to find his targets.
 
Major credit must go to the Panthers' pass rushers. Including Tyler Jones, who had 8 tackles and 2 sacks,  Finn Meberg with 4 tackles and 2 sacks (one being a strip sack) and Kingston Miskinis with 2 tackles and 2 sacks. 

Those Panthers' defenders led their defensive unit to finish with a staggering 6 sacks and zero points allowed on the day (As all of the Jugglers' points were scored on defence). Hudson Brynjolfson capitalized on the pressure up front, grabbing 2 interceptions. 

As dominant as the Panthers' defence was, a pick-six by Jugglers outside linebacker Klyde Tan kept his team in this game as the Panthers led by just a single score at the half, 14-7.

Needing a spark to get their offence going, the Panthers put the ball in their star tailback's hands. Jerin Harinen took control of the game and the Panthers never looked back. Harinen finished with 21 rushes for 167 yards and 4 scores on the day.

Quarterback Chase Thurston turned things around after that early pick-six, finishing 10/17, for 174 yards passing and one major, while adding 7 Rushes for 80 yards on the ground. When dropping back, Thurston often turned to his favourite target Logan Wager, who had 6 receptions for 110 yards and a score.

"In a game where some things didn’t go right initially, I thought our players did a good job of refocusing and getting back on track. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to play in BC Place on Sunday in the semi-finals," said Panthers head coach Michael Carter post-game.

The Panthers will get back to work and will have till next Sunday to prepare for their rematch against the Vancouver College Fighting Irish, a game in which the Panthers won earlier this year 23-10.