McKinley v Capitol

On this brisk night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the McKinley Panthers matched up with the Capitol Golden Lions for what is the oldest rivalry in Baton Rouge history. With Hurricane Ida putting a pause on all football activities for the past week, this turned out to be both teams first regular season game. In this seventy-third matchup between these two teams both came out looking to score. McKinley took the ball first but was not able to get anything going with the Golden Lions defense looking strong forcing McKinley to punt. Capitol, starting with the ball on their own 21 yard line, was able to put together an eleven play drive capped off with a 26 yard fade to Druane Lewis for the touchdown.

On the ensuing kickoff after a missed extra point, McKinley brought the ball out to midfield, but a strong hit popped the ball out giving possession back to Capitol late in the first quarter. After a nine play drive resulting in a punt, McKinley was looking to get on the scoreboard. At the start of the second quarter, a perfect screen pass was set up for Chauncey Smith. Breaking a couple of tackles, Smith was able to take this pass 40 yards putting the Panthers on Capitol’s 27 yard line. Two plays later, Jeremiah Allen took an inside handoff and bounced it outside for 20 yards and the score. After a muffed snap, the Panthers were not able to convert the extra point leaving the game tied with 7:44 left in the second quarter.

We skip ahead to the 7:37 mark of the third quarter in this flag ridden game where McKinley had just gotten possession on their own 16 yard line. After a blown play resulting in a loss of 5, Jeremiah Allen took the ball once again breaking two tackles for a 45 yard gain. After another chunk gain and more penalties, the Panthers were forced to punt to end the third quarter with the game still tied. The punt now up in the air, the returner backpedalled to retrieve it however, it tipped off of his hands. McKinley defenders were racing toward the ball but somehow Capitol was able to fall on it just outside of their own 1 yard line. Two plays later, a bobbled pass landed directly in the McKinley linebacker’s hands resulting in a 2 yard pick six for the Panthers. McKinley was not able to convert the two point attempt leaving the score at 12-6 with 11:04 left in the fourth quarter.

After back and forth possessions, Capitol now had the ball and was looking to send this game into overtime. After three straight completed passes, Capitol was now driving into enemy territory. Just when it looked like Capitol had the momentum to even up the score, an out route was intercepted by the senior cornerback Andre Knighton. With only a minute fifty-three left, McKinley was able to run out the clock securing this teams first win since 2019.

Here are the Highlights for McKinley v Capitol: http://www.hudl.com/v/2FmtZZ

After the game I was able to talk with the man who sealed the victory, Andre Knighton about what this win meant to the team.

How are you feeling about getting your first win:

I feel great. It’s been a whole year since we got a win. I’ve been praying on it since last season ended. We worked hard for this and so I feel terrific.

What are you excited about for this season: