By Travis M. Smith | KBEC Sports
Despite a promising start, the Midlothian Panthers fell to South Oak Cliff in the 5A Division II Region II bi-district championship on Thursday.
The Golden Bears scored once in each of the second, third and fourth quarters for the 21-7 victory. They will now face Frisco in the area round of the 5A DII postseason next week.
Midlothian began the game at Sprague Stadium in Dallas with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Nicholas De Los Santos.
The Panthers rushed for positive yardage on all 13 plays of the opening scoring drive, highlighted by Ethan Hill’s 27-yard scamper and a 14-yard run by Jeremy McCoy.
The South Oak Cliff defense then buckled down to force the Panthers into five punts, two turnovers on downs inside SOC territory and one turnover on downs on the Midlothian side of the field.
The Golden Bears eventually outgained the Panthers 361 yards to 163, which included 186 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 17 carries by running back Cam Davis.
As for the Panthers offense, De Los Santos completed 3-of-his-5 passes for 44 yards in place of the injured Tate Corbin. He also added seven carries for 5 yards.
Ethan Hill led the Panthers on the ground with 13 carries for 66 yards, while McCoy added seven carries for 31 yards.
Midlothian ends the season with an 8-3 record and 6-2 mark in the stout District 5-5A.
It should not be forgotten that an overtime fumble returned for a touchdown against top-ranked Aledo and a last-second field goal by Burleson Centennial were all that stood between the Panthers and a perfect regular season. Rest assured Midlothian faithful, head coach Doug Wendel and staff have turned the Panthers into a perennial contender.
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Travis M. Smith, @Travis5mith
tsmith@kbec.com