By Ray Hamill — A memorable season for the McKinleyville Panthers ended in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division-7 playoffs on Friday night.
Barely.
The top seeds in the bracket welcomed No. 8 Kelseyville to Mack High, but it was the lower seeds who would walk away with the victory, rallying late and holding on down the stretch to win 21-18.
The Knights scored the winning touchdown with just 14 seconds remaining in the game, after the Panthers had rallied from an early 14-point deficit with three unanswered touchdowns and took their first lead of the night on a Braylon Sotelo seven-yard TD run with a little over eight minutes remaining.
Ultimately, mistakes proved costly for McKinleyville, which turned the ball over four times and had multiple drives stall because of penalties.
“It’s kind of just been our theme all year,” McKinleyville head coach Jason Benge said. “We dug ourselves a hole in the first half with penalties and turnovers.
“Of course, I’m always happy with the way our boys responded in the second half, but it’s frustrating because I really felt we were a better team than Kelseyville.”
After Sotelo’s TD gave McKinleyville an 18-14 lead, the Panthers defense forced a third straight three-and-out and it appeared as if the momentum had shifted.
A low snap on a punt attempt then gave the Panthers excellent field position as they took over at the Kelseyville 15 with seven minutes remaining.
But a fumble on the very next play — the second of the half for the home team — gave the ball right back to the Knights, who would then piece together their longest drive of the game, marching 90 yards on 13 plays and eating up almost seven minutes, before scoring what would turn out to be the winning touchdown.
Two McKinleyville penalties — a face mask call and a pass interference — helped keep the drive alive.
Despite that late drive, the Panthers defense kept their team in the game all night and never really allowed the visitors feel comfortable, including coming up with big stand after Kelseyville got possession at the Mack 25 after an interception early in the game.
Neither team was able to get much going early in the game and they combined for just one first down over the opening four drives.
But the Knights would settle in the quicker of the two teams, piecing together a 13-play drive on their third possession to take a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
They would double their advantage on a pick six later in the quarter, the second interception of the game for McKinleyville quarterback Corbin Green.
Wit their backs to the wall, however, the Panthers responded with their best drive of the opening half late in the second quarter, marching 70 yards on 10 plays in under three minutes and scoring on a 24-yard TD run by Carson Hicks.
They would pull within two late in the third quarter on a short TD run by Hudson Kapko, a freshman who was just called up to the varsity roster this week.
Kapko, one of many young standouts on this year’s roster, was a definite bright spot for the home team and finished his first varsity game with 10 tackles to go with the touchdown.
“He had a tremendous game,” Benge said of the freshman. “Just was phenomenal out on the field. He was one of our bright spots tonight.”
Playing in their final high school games, both Sotelo and Wes Montgomery gave everything they had for their team.
“Braylon Sotelo just had a tremendous game, both on offense running the ball and on defense,” Benge said of the team leader. “And just the leadership he showed all year.
“And Wes Montgomery just continued to be a leader on defense and set the tone on defense.”
The season may be over, but this group of Panthers have certainly left their mark on the program, including winning just the school’s second league championship in over three decades.
“I’m disappointed we lost, but like I told the players, nobody can take the championship away from you guys,” Benge said. “We may have lost tonight, but I feel our future is bright.”
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