[laker20]

Just made the long drive (seemed short really) home. This was a very well played game by both teams. As I stated in the prediction thread, this game would come down to turnovers. Russell Co forced all three of the fumbles, but even more impressive was how we held on to the ball. There were several times that the Panthers were very aggressive at trying to strip the ball, but the Lakers held strong. I was also impressed with how the Lakers stayed in bounds during the last couple of drives. There were several plays where they could have avoided a bit of contact by going out, but stayed in. The officiating was actually pretty good in this one, probably the best I've seen all year. I disagreed with the intentional grounding call and the head to head contact foul, but that's just a matter of opinion.

This game was very similar to the game against Whitley Co. The Lakers built a solid lead only to have the Panthers come back a bit in the 3rd. Not sure if the defense is letting up a bit or the Panthers were just more focused......probably a bit of both. The Lakers held strong and turned up the momentum on it's last scoring drive, eating up all but the last 50 seconds or so of the 4th.

After the game the coach told the boys to enjoy the win and celebrate over the weekend because this is something they'll remember for a lifetime, but come Sunday it's time prepare for the next game......they have bigger goals for the season, and this was just one more wrung on the ladder to that goal.

Great Game by both teams, hope to see a rematch in a few weeks.