The Panthers began the 2024 campaign with a big 36-14 victory over the Divine Child Falcons to earn the 1st football victory on the new stadium turf.  The defense was solid all night, making life difficult for the Divine Child skilled players.  The defense repeatedly made plays in the DC backfield.  Leading the defense was Cole Archer with a monster game of 10 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and a fumble recovery.  Luke Bergkoetter also had 10 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.  Justin Chapko picked up a fumble and Maverick Hammond had an interception return for a touchdown to complete the scoring.  The defense also hung a safety on the Falcons for two more points.  Offensively, the Panthers started off on fire with Reed Myers engineering two scoring drives with touchdown passes to Brody Videto and Hammond.  Myers left the game with an injury before halftime but had an impressive stat line of 8/9 passing, 109 yards and 2 TDs.  Brody Parrott led the rushing attack with 68 yards on 14 carries.  Brody Videto came in for Myers at QB and the offense continued to move the ball and score, as Videto ran for a touchdown and hit Hammond on a huge 35 yard touchdown pass.  For the game, Videto finished with 3 TDs (one rushing, one passing and one receiving) and was 4/5 passing for 65 yards.  Hammond led the receivers with 5 receptions for 128 yards and 2 TDs.  DJ VanRiper also chipped in with a good game, as he had 6 receptions for 41 yards.  Noah Berdiner did an amazing job helping the Panthers earn hidden yardage in the kicking game, as he continuously pinned the Falcons deep into their own field position.  The Panthers hit the road to go play up in Traverse City this next Friday.  The game will pit Traverse City Central against the Panthers and the game will be played at Thirlby Field.