Panthers swat Yellowjackets in season opener, 20-6

MAYPEARL – With much anticipation, Class 1A-4A football kicked-off on August 28 across most of Texas, including a cross county 3A matchup between the Ferris Yellowjackets and Maypearl Panthers. 

Getting in the gate alone is much different than before. Seating capacities at stadiums and gyms, at the direction of the UIL, have been limited to aid in social distancing and was carefully monitored at Maypearl’s Stadium. Most kick-off times have been moved up to 7 p.m. 

With kick-off temp between 101-102 degrees, both Ferris and Maypearl, moved the ball effectively in their first drives. The Yellowjackets took the opening possession and moved deep in the Panthers side of the field before stalling and turning the ball over on downs. The Panthers took their opening possession and move deep into the Yellowjackets side of the field but ended up punting. 

In the 2nd quarter, Maypearl shook off some first game jitters and put together a nice balanced drive with short out and crossing passes and some positive running plays. The drive ended on a perfect touch pass from QB Jaxson Emerton (10) to a wide-open Timmy Gracey (7) running down the middle of the field. The PAT was good, and the Panthers were up 7-0.

The Yellowjackets stung right back. On the ensuing kick-off, Demarcus Rankin (14) returned it to the house putting Ferris on the board. The PAT was missed. Maypearl put together another good drive late in the quarter. but the drive stalled. The Panthers sent out kicker Rylan Winingham (11), and he drilled a 30-yard field goal giving the Panthers a 10-6 lead going into halftime. 

After a great performance by the Maypearl band, the Yellowjackets kicked off to start the 2nd half, and on the first possession, the Jackets Kody Connell (20) intercepted a crossing route pass, giving the Jackets great field position. This was the Yellowjackets best starting field position, and a few plays later they were smelling the end-zone. However, the Panthers had other ideas and shut down the run and forcing a turnover on downs. From this point it was mostly a defensive battle until midway through the 4th quarter.

On a Jaxson Emerton scramble, the Panther’s QB tossed a deep ball to a leaping Aidan Matthews (9) who had gotten behind the defense. When Matthews landed, he turned up field and was gone. With a good PAT, the Panthers were up 17-6. Ferris struggled to move the ball in the 4th, and Maypearl’s Rylan Winingham added one more field goal making the score 20-6, which was the final.

Next up, Maypearl travels to Venus while Ferris hosts Benbrook on Friday September 4.