The word “wet” could not begin to describe the conditions this past Friday night as buckets of rain swept across the triangle. The Panther Creek football team battled Holly Springs in a monsoon-turned-mudslide that would give the Catamounts a firm grip on their number two spot in the SWAC standings heading into the last week of the regular season. However, not the rain nor the Golden Hawk defense could suppress the big plays from the Catamounts as they went on to shutout Holly Springs 27-0.

Panther Creek jumped out to an early halftime lead of 14-0 after two 39-yard Brendan Magner passes to Alec Slusser and Tre Sullivan. Senior running back Dorrel McClain, not to be outdone, also scampered away to a 34-yard touchdown run that ended in a slip-n-slide. McClain totaled 126 yards on the ground, bringing his rushing total to 1328 on the season. It is also to be said that he leads the SWAC in rushing yards.

The Catamount defense also had a solid showing against the Golden Hawks, registering their third shutout of the season. Holly Springs failed to reach Panther Creek territory once during the game. Panther Creek also forced several Golden Hawk fumbles, which helped to set up scores for the Catamount offense early in the game.

Perhaps the most consistent player for the Catamounts was punter Justin “Boomer” Eisner. Eisner made it especially tough on the Holly Springs offense, downing two of his punts inside the Holly Springs own five-yard line, one of which landed squarely on the one-yard line. Eisner topped off the Catamounts’ dominance in all three aspects of the game: offense, defense, and special teams.

With Friday night’s victory, Panther Creek now moves to 8-2 (5-1 SWAC), while Holly Springs drops to 5-5 (4-2 SWAC). The Catamounts will face their rivals from across the tracks, the Green Hope Falcons (5-5 overall, 2-4 SWAC), on Senior Night, this Friday, November 8th. Last season, the Falcons shutout Panther Creek 14-0. With nearly all of the Catamounts’ starters having participated in that matchup, they will surely be ready to avenge the tough loss from a year ago.