RANGELY I The Panther football team lost a league contest to the Rams from South Routt County (Soroco) 42-28 in Oak Creek last Friday and they will play on the road again this Friday in Norwood, in another conference game.
The Panthers are now 2-5 overall and 1-1 in league play. The Norwood Mavericks are currently 6-1 and undefeated in two league games.
Against the Rams, the Panthers were able to move the ball on offense but they turned the ball over eight times.
“The boys played extremely hard against a fast Soroco Rams team,” head coach Paul Fortunato said. “Although we had a successful night due to the front line, we self-destructed on several occasions.”
Behind Rangely’s offensive line, production was provided by senior Kiki Ruiz on the ground and freshman quarterback Devin Ramirez in the air.
Ruiz was a work horse, carrying the ball 46 times for 259 yards. Ruiz scored two touchdowns and ran in a two-point conversion for the Panthers and he also recovered a fumble on defense.
Ramirez completed three passes, all of them to junior Troy Allred and all of them were for points, including two touchdowns, along with a two-point conversion.
“It’s frustrating to know they are doing everything right to win the game but they are just unable to stay focused on ball security and shoot themselves in the foot. The positive is, we are an extremely young team and these things can be fixed.”
Senior Nakoma Bailey led the Panthers on defense with 10 tackles and two were sacks. Allred finished with nine tackles, senior Jesse Powell had eight and an interception, while classmate Jimmie Sherman finished with six.
Kickoff against Norwood is scheduled for 7 p.m.
