Panther Creek rallies late, but falls in final minute to Myers Park in 4AA quarterfinal

Panther Creek’s remarkable comeback ended in a loss Friday night, as host Myers Park scored with 16 seconds left and beat the Catamounts 27-21 in a Class 4AA quarterfinal playoff game.

The fourth-ranked Catamounts (8-1) had battled back from an early 20-0 deficit and took a 21-20 lead with 2:21 remaining on a 60-yard pass from sophomore Amari Odom to senior wide receiver Jonathan Streeter.

Trevor Vanauken’s conversion kick put Panther Creek ahead.

That touchdown followed a strange sequence, in which each team turned the ball over on subsequent plays.

Panther Creek’s hopes appeared to have been dashed when an Odom pass was intercepted. But on Myers Park’s first play, running back Jacob Newman fumbled at the Catamounts’ 40. The Odom-to-Streeter touchdown pass came on the next play.

But Myers Park (9-0) wasn’t finished.

The Mustangs’ Ayden Burkey returned the kickoff 35 yards to the Myers Park 45. The Mustangs drove for the go-ahead score, which came on a 1-yard run by K’daron Redfearn with 16 seconds remaining.

The big sequence in Myers Park’s winning drive was an 18-yard completion from Lucas Lenhoff to Burkey on fourth down. That put the ball at the Panther Creek 16, and the Catamounts were penalized another 8 yards on the play for a horse-collar tackle.

Panther Creek had one more gasp, as Odom completed a pair of passes to Zay Jones in the closing seconds and moved the ball to the Myers Park 40. But with 1.2 seconds remaining, Odom’s pass was intercepted by the Mustangs in the end zone.

Panther Creek found itself in a deep hole early in the game, losing two fumbles.

After Lenhoff connected with Camarion Thornton on a 70-yard touchdown pass on the opening play of the second quarter, Myers Park led 20-0.

The Catamounts closed to 20-3 on a 37-yard Vanauken field goal late in the half.

They narrowed the gap to 20-9 when Jesse Powell picked off a Lenhoff pass and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown with 1:05 left in the third quarter.

Panther Creek got to within 20-15 with 4:36 left in the game, when Odom and Streeter connected on a 10-yard touchdown pass.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Ayden Burkey, Myers Park: A junior wide receiver, Burkey returned a kickoff 35 yards in the closing minutes, giving the Mustangs good field position to start their game-winning drive. Then he caught a crucial fourth-down pass to keep the drive alive.

Jonathan Streeter, Panther Creek: A senior wide receiver and defensive back, Streeter caught touchdown passes of 10 and 60 yards in the fourth quarter, helping the Catamounts rally.

Camarion Thornton, Myers Park: Thornton caught touchdown passes of 24 and 70 yards.

WHAT’S NEXT

Panther Creek’s spring season ends with an 8-1 record and the Triangle 4A Conference championship. The Catamounts have several key players returning for the fall season, led by sophomore quarterback Amari Odom. Myers Park will host defending state 4AA champion Vance next Friday for the West Region championship.

Panther Creek 0 3 6 12 — 21

Myers Park 13 7 0 7 — 27

MP: Camarion Thornton 24 pass from Lucas Lenhoff (Win Byerley kick)

MP: Jacob Newman 2 run (kick blocked)

MP: Thornton 70 pass from Lenhoff (Byerley kick)

PC: FG Trevor Vanauken 37

PC: Jesse Powell 51 interception return (kick blocked)

PC: Jonathan Streeter 10 pass from Amari Odom (pass failed)

PC: Streeter 60 pass from Odom (pass failed)

MP: K’daron Redfearn 1 run (Byerley kick)

This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 10:25 PM.