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The Panthers will begin the Little 4 next weekend with some confidence and a lot of momentum after closing out their pre-conference schedule with a big come-from-behind win on Saturday night.

McKinleyville traveled to Cloverdale and rallied to win 10-7, thanks to some impressive defense and a big second half from a beat-up offensive line.

With the victory the Panthers improved to 2-2.

“It was a big win for us,” said first-year head coach Jason Benge, who took over a program that had not won a game in two years. “Our defense stepped up and just played huge for us.”

Trailing 7-0 at halftime, the visitors scored 10 unanswered points after the break, with a huge game-sealing Blake Santos interception in the end zone late in the fourth as the Eagles were driving for the go-ahead score.

“They just kept fighting and never gave up,” Benge added of his players. “And I was just happy with the resiliency they showed. They just kept fighting.”

Jeremiah Smith, who is enjoying a big season for the team, scored the Panthers’ only TD of the night on a short run, while Dash Clare nailed a 35-yard field goal.

And that was just enough to secure the victory, thanks to a defense that had multiple standouts, no one more so than junior team captain Braylon Sotelo.

The defensive end wrecked havoc in the Cloverdale backfield all night, finishing with several tackles for a loss and four sacks. 

Linebacker Bryce Grutzmacher also had a good game on defense and came up with two huge third-quarter sacks, while senior linebacker Kahlil Edison also had a big sack.

Offensively, the Panthers grew into the game after being shut out in the opening half.

“Offensively, we just sputtered the whole first half, and we couldn’t get anything going, and our defense kept us in the game,” Benge said.

The Mack coaches switched things up, moving Trevor Marsh to quarterback and QB Ruger Baxter to receiver, and the move paid dividends.

“We did it just to add a little spark, and it kind of changed things,” Benge said. “And Ruger moved to receiver and it just kind of added a little dynamic to our offense.”

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The offensive line also played a role in the second-half comeback.

With multiple injuries along the line early in the season, Benge has been rotating players in and that’s a strategy that also worked well on Saturday.

“In the second half, our offensive line stepped up,” the head coach said.

Cloverdale dropped to 1-3 with the loss.

The Panthers will open the Little 4 at home against neighbor and rival Arcata next weekend.

The McKinleyville JVs didn’t fare quite as well on Saturday, falling 35-0 and dropping to 2-2.

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