After the Sherwood Warriors posted two straight shutouts to start the season, the Paint Branch Panthers looked to end that streak. Unfortunately, the Panthers could not, and on Thursday September 17, the Warriors had their third straight shutout victory, a 19-0 win that was a much closer contest than last year’s 35-0.

            Coach Mike Nesmith stated “the score was indicative of how close the game really was. We made self-incriminating errors which stalled drives from third and one to a second and long.”

            Paint Branch went three and out on their first drive of the game and were forced to punt. Sherwood’s Jamal Merritt nearly took the punt back to the house. However, good defense and penalties stopped them from scoring.  When Paint Branch got the ball back, senior quarterback Tracy Martin got called for intentional grounding, and, since he was in the end zone at the time of the play, was whistled for a safety. Sherwood took that ensuing safety kick and drove down the field for a field goal. That produced a baseball type score of 5-0.

            On the next Paint Branch drive, Martin was able to move the ball; however it was three and out again. Stalled drives were the case for the rest of the half for both teams. A Hail Mary pass by Aj Pignone, if timed correctly, could have been a touchdown but fell incomplete and ended the half. 

            During halftime, Montgomery County Sportsmanship Awards were given to several Paint Branch coaches. When the third quarter began, Sherwood kick returner Merritt, who nearly took an earlier punt back for a score, broke the game open with an eighty-two yard touchdown return. After an unsuccessful drive by Paint Branch, Sherwood got the ball back, but junior defensive tackle, Lance Fitzpatrick recovered a fumble for Paint Branch. However, the Panthers again couldn’t capitalize.

             On Sherwood’s next pass play, they turned the ball over again with a deceptive interception by Paint Branch cornerback Earvin Egnumba, but Paint Branch could not capitalize on the turnover. Later on, when Sherwood was moving the ball, Paint Branch junior linebacker Greg Smith recovered a fumble, but again Paint Branch couldn’t score a touchdown. The Panthers had opportunities in the second half but they could not make the best of their chances. Sherwood put the game away on a trick play touchdown to make it 19-0. Overall, mistakes were what held the Panthers from a third straight win to start the season.

            The Panthers hoped to learn from their mistakes. Coach Nesmith noted, “The mistakes we made during the game will be we worked on during practice so we don’t make them in the next game.” Paint Branch hopes to rebound with a victory over the Wotton Patriots on September 25, 2009.