Senior quarterback Cooper Shaw completed 11 of his 25 passing attempts for 278 yards and a pair of long TD passes to junior Luke Kreger, who had 9 catches covering 256 yards on the night.

Warrior Run opened the game’s scoring less than two minutes in with a 5-play drive that ended with a TD and a good PAT attempt, giving the Defenders a 7-0 lead.

North Penn-Mansfield would punt away their first possession of the game, but forced a Warrior Run turnover on downs and started the ensuing possession on their own 30. Shaw hit Kreger in stride down the right sideline and 70 yards and a good Brody Grinnell extra point kick pulled the Panthers even at 7-7 with four minutes left in the opening frame. 

The Panther “D” came up with a turnover on Warrior Run’s next possession as George Perry fell on a Defender fumble and NP-Mansfield had the ball at their own 35. A 10-play drive that spanned the 1st and 2nd quarters stalled at the Warrior Run 19. Facing a 4th down and 7, the Panthers opted for a 35-yard field goal that Grinnell nailed with yards to spare, giving NPM a 10-7 lead just 10 seconds into the 2nd quarter.

The lead was short lived however, as Warrior Run returned the ensuing squib kick for a TD and made the PAT kick to retake the lead, 14-10, with 11:38 on the clock.

The Panthers would answer once again, this time with a two-play drive culminating with a 55-yard TD pass from Shaw to Kreger. Grinnell was good once again and NPM took a 17-14 lead with 10:47 remaining in the half.

But again the Panther lead wouldn’t last long, as WR answered with a 25-yard scoring strike with just over 6 minutes left and their point after kick was good to give the Defenders led once again, 21-17.

Mansfield wouldn’t go away just yet as Shaw led them on a 9-play drive .. helped by a pass interference call on Warrior Run on 4th-and-6 that set the Panthers up at the Defender 14. After a short gain by senior Riley Oakes, Shaw covered the final 12 yards himself and Grinnell’s kick put NPM up 24-21 with just under 3 minutes remaining until the break. 

But not only would Warrior Run score the game’s final 49 points, they’d tack on 14 of those points before intermission .. on a 70-yard run and a 25-yard pass .. to take a 35-24 lead into the locker rooms. 

The Panthers took the 2nd-half kickoff and would turn the ball over on downs, followed by a Warrior Run drive and score that gave them a 41-24 lead with less than four minutes gone in the 3rd quarter. Fifteen seconds later the Defenders picked off Shaw on Mansfield’s first play from scrimmage and made the two-point try for a 49-24 lead with 8 minutes left in the 3rd. 

On NP-Mansfield’s ensuing possession, Warrior Run again stepped in front of a Shaw pass and again scored, making the XP to take a 56-24 lead with 6:58 left in the 3rd.

The Panthers were forced to punt on their next drive and Warrior Run capitalized, scoring from 46 yards out. With the kick the Defenders led 63-24. 

NPM’s next possession led the game into the 4th quarter, but another WR pick ended the drive. The Defenders would tack on their final score with just over 6 minutes left in the game to provide the 70-24 final.

Shaw led the Panthers in rushing, gaining 48 yards and a score on 15 carries, while freshman backup QB Sudan Benner gained 38 yards on four carries.

Defensively, George Valentine had 6 solo and 4 assisted tackles, while Braden Pequignot had 3 solo stops and assisted on 7 more and Lucas Moore had 5 tackles. 

The Panthers fall to 2-4 on the season with the loss. They’ll be on the road next week, taking on Muncy Friday. 

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