Barbara Lawlor,  Nederland.  It was a game to remember.

The Nederland Panthers hosted the Gilpin Eagles last Saturday in a game that either team could have won in the last minute. With a score of 20-20 and four minutes on the clock in the fourth quarter, the Panthers began a  drive that was punctuated by a pass from Jaylan Razdall that, for a second, looked like it had been intercepted. The refs ruled that the ball was simultaneously caught by both the Eagle and Panther player and according to the rule, the reception went to Nederland, the offensive team. The Panthers were first and goal.

With 51 seconds on the clock, the Eagles held Nederland for two plays until Rasdall found Panther Bob Allen who brought the ball to the end zone for a 26-20 lead and Rasdall ran the ball in for the conversion, 28-20.

Although the Eagles put up a valiant effort to make use of the last 50 seconds, the Panthers held them to win the mountain rivalry game, payback for last year’s loss.

But it isn’t over. On Friday, Oct. 16 Nederland will travel to Gilpin County for a rematch under lights at the Eagle’s Homecoming game. Both teams now have a 3-2 record with the Eagles playing Vail Christian, 4-0, this Saturday and the Panthers playing Justice, 0-5, this Saturday in Nederland for their Homecoming Game.

Gilpin opened the game with a slow, but determined downfield march, that kept losing ground to penalties. The Eagles tried a fourth down pass but it came up short and the Panthers took over.

Rasdall’s first pass was tipped and intercepted and the Eagles landed on the Panther 26-yard line. Gilpin quarterback Chase Boulter gained ground on the run and Matt Immordino and Jon Lovett plunged through Ned’s defense to eat up the yards. On a 4 and 6, the Panthers held strong and took over the ball on their own 25.

Kenny Shankey powered to the 38 and then to the 45 when Rasdall threw to Abendroth and the Panthers were in Eagle territory. But a personal foul stopped the goal quest and Panther Tucker Carr punted; a perfect kick that settled on the Eagle one-yard line.

In a series of runs, Boulter took the Eagles out of trouble and a long pass to Immordino put them safely in Panther territory. Immordino then carried the ball into the end zone. The conversion attempt was no good and the Eagles were on top, 6-0.

Tucker Carr returned Gilpin’s kick to the Eagle 25 and the Panthers began their trek to the end zone. A pass interference call put Nederland on the 10 yard line. Shankey moved the ball to the three yard line and then inches and then the to the end zone. Rasdall’a pass to Abendroth was good for two and the Panthers were ahead 8-6 at halftime.

Before the teams retired to the lockers, a special presentation was made, the retiring of Miles Pancoasts jersey, number 88. As former football team members gathered round him, coach Aaron Jones said that it didn’t take Miles’ accident for everyone to know how special he is.

“Last year, Miles was the state leader in sacks. He didn’t get to finish the season because of his spinal cord injury, but he has always supported the team and we are proud of him.”

Miles told the coach and the team and spectators on the bleachers, “Through the frustration and pain, there has always been the brotherhood. My teammates always have my back and I have theirs. My team is my family and the guys never abandoned me. The coaches acted as father figures for me. No matter if we win or lose, we will stay true to the team.”

Nederland’s first drive in the second half resulted in a great kick punt by Tucker Carr putting the Eagles on their one-yard line. As they tried to claw their way out, the ball was fumbled and Panther Quin Kuechenmeister recovered it and ran it in for a touchdown. The conversion was no good and the score was 14-6.

The Eagles played touch. Boulter  ran the ball, moving the chains into Panther territory. With 4 and 3 on the Nederland 24 yard line, the Eagles went for it but were stopped. The held the Panthers with a sack and the Carr punted.

In the next play, Lovett brought the ball to the Eagles 49 yard line. Gaining a few yards, Boulter gained the first down on a fourth down play and then  lofted a touchdown pass to Immordino. The conversion pass was incomplete, but the score was now 14-12.

In the next series a Panther fumble was recovered by Eagle Nick Peterson and the Eagles were eager to pass the Panthers. After gaining two first downs, the Eagles had momentum until a short pass bounced off the Gilpin receiver and into the arms of Panther Jack Abendroth who ran the ball in for a touchdown. The score was now 20-12.

The fourth quarter began with an Eagle punt that put the Panthers on the Eagle 27-yard line. But Gilpin wasn’t going to give in and Nederland attempted a field goal kick that was no good and the Eagles had their chance again.

Boulter and Immordino steadily pushed forward, four first downs to the Panther nine-yard line and Immordino ran in and succeeded at the two-point conversion.

With a 20-20 tied score, the Panthers pressed on to Allen’s winning touchdown. The Panther celebration was emotional, tears and hugs from the players who were quiet after last year’s match up. This time the Eagles were hushed while their fans cheered for their effort.

Nederland Overall Player of the Game was Ian Dunham. Nederland Offensive Player was Jack Abendroth. Kenny Shankey was the Defensive Player of the Game and Tucker Carr was the Special Teams Player of the Game.

After the game, Panther coach Aaron Jones said, “With JJ Rippy and Keyghan Otten both hurt we were down to Ian, our third center.  He has never snapped in a game and has a dozen or so plays of experience on the offensive line in a game.  He was the center through most of the third and all of the 4th quarter.  He really stepped up when his number was called.  We were all really excited for Ian and he helped us move the ball and especially on the final winning drive.

“I thought we were in big trouble with our center situation but Ian kind of saved the day there.  Keyghan and JJ are the long snappers as well, but Ian even stepped up in that capacity, by placing a perfect snap on our field goal attempt.  He works on his snaps in practice a lot, even though he never gets any reps with the field goal unit at center.  He was ready and came up big for his team.”

Jack Abendroth had just a huge day on both sides of the ball, you name it he did it. Watching him and Quin both find a way to score on defense was a thrill to watch, and a result of perfect hits by Kenny Shankey and Tucker Carr.

“Jaylan had some streaks at QB where he was just smooth, completing 8 passes in a row at one point.  The rain seemed to pick up each time we had the ball in the second half, and some throws started sailing on him.  By the late 4th quarter it dried up and  Jaylan heated up again hitting 6 of his last 7 passes including the game winning TD.  He also had some exciting runs mixed in and proved he’s a dangerous player.

Trig and Caleb Pugmire played tough on the edge all day, coming up to make big tackles vs their steady sweep plays. Trig limped through a calf injury all game and was a warrior.   Kenny, Tucker, Jack and Keyghan held down the middle of the field.  We blew some assignments and got fooled a few times, but luck was on our side at the right times and they missed some chances just like we did.

“The defensive line also came up big when we needed them and picked up several sacks and tackles for loss...often at just the right time.  Bob Allen, Layton Kasch, Austin O’Melia, and Aswin Malla battled all day.

“I am really proud of our guys and coaches.  They all worked hard in practice this week and stuck to the plan.   When the last seconds ticked off, we were feeling pretty damn good.”

Eagle coach Dan Ball said that it  was a great game. “We had 618 total yards that day and our defense played well enough to keep Ned to four TDs. We had trouble holding on to the ball on Saturday...the two fumbles for scores was really the difference. We look forward to doing it all over again on a Friday night, under the lights, here in Gilpin. I thought it was a nice jersey retirement ceremony for Miles, and as the Gilpin Football Team...we were happy that we were there for that.”

Nederland Individual Statistics: Jaylan Rasdall: 18/27 completions for 198 yards and 1 TD, long 28, 15  carries for 73 yards

Kenny Shankey: 14 carries for 66 yards, 17 long; 14 solo tackles, 5 assists 19 yards, 1 touchdown.

Austin O’melia: 4 carries for 30 yards, 9 solo tackles, 3 assists

Jack Abendroth: 9 receptions for 140 yards, 33 long, 9 solo tackles, 1 assist, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery, 1 touchdown

Quin Kuechenmeister: 6 receptions for 46 yards, 4 solo tackles, 1 assist, 2 KO returns, 25 yards, 1 touchdown

Aubrey Charlson: 1 solo tackle

Sunil Ghale: 2 solo tackles

Robert Allen: 3 receptions for 12 yards, 9 solo tackles, 1 assist, 1 sack, 1 toucdown

Tucker Carr: 7 solo tackles, 7 assists, 5 KO for 193 yards, long 58, 4 punts for 205 yards, 2 KO returns for 60 yards, 45 long

Layton Kasch: 2 solo tackles, 6 assists

Aswin Malla: 2 color tackles, 3 assists, 1 sack

Keyghan Otten: 4 solo tackles

Taylor Hoffman; 1 solo tackle

Individual Gilpin Statistics:

Chase Boulter: completed 6 of 18 pass attempts for 114 yards, 35 long, 44 carries for 203 yards, 2 receptions for 61 yards

Nick Peterson: 2 solo tackles, 5 assists, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

Braedyn Perez: 4 solo tackles, 2 assists

Austin Boulder: 2 solo tackles, 2 assists, 1 reception for 16 yards.

Eryk Lorenz: 1 carry for 2 yards, 6 solo tackles, 6 assists

Matt Immordino: 19 carries for 178 yards, 3 touchdowns, 8 solo tackles, 1 assist, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery

Manny Gomez: 4 solo tackles, 6 assists, 2 interceptions

Jon Lovett: 7 carries for 20 yards,  3 receptions for 37 yards, 7 solo tackles, 2 assists

Kyle Viboolsittiseri: 9 solo tackles, 2 assists, 2 sacks

Sam Ghaffari: 2 solo tackles, 1 assist