The Panthers edged the Fighting Hawks 24-17 in Sunday's regular-season clash at home. It was a tighter affair than either side might have expected, but the hosts held firm to settle things.
By then the Panthers had already shown they can raise the tempo when they need to, and this result followed a mixed run of results. They'd won at home against the Redbirds, defeated the Bulldogs in a high-scoring affair, but had also lost to the Eagles and, notably, suffered a heavy 0-55 defeat to the Hawks just a month earlier.
The Fighting Hawks came in with momentum from their 55-28 victory over the Racers the previous week. They'd also put past the Sycamores, though earlier in the month they'd been held to just 7 points against the Cornhuskers. The pattern was there — capable of brilliance, but occasionally vulnerable to a defensive setup.
And here's the thing about that 0-55 result. It sits in the memory like a bruise. When two sides meet twice in a season, the second encounter rarely unfolds the same way. The Panthers had been second to everything in that earlier match, but by Sunday the pitch had cut up badly and the game ground out to something more measured.
To be fair, neither team put the game to bed early. The margins were narrow, the scoreline reflecting a contest where both defenses worked the channels and neither side could find the kind of rhythm they'd displayed in some of their other fixtures this season.
