The Lumberton Panthers could have been excused it they’d taken it easy Friday night in their 2024 regular-season finale.
After all, Lumberton had already wrapped up the Region 8-1A championship and home-field advantage through the Class 1A South State playoffs. But the Panthers took care of business efficiently, rolling over Resurrection Catholic 25-0 at Lumberton Stadium.
The Panthers completed the regular season 8-2 overall and 5-0 in region, and will open the postseason next week at home. The Eagles (3-7, 1-4) missed the playoffs for just the third time in the past 13 seasons.
“We’re an experienced team,” said Lumberton coach Jonathan Ladner. “We’ve got 13 seniors and 12 juniors, so that’s 25 guys who have grown up in the system over the last four years. They understand what we’re asking from them.”
Lumberton took command right from the start, scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions of the game.
Senior quarterback Lathan Bowens was back in the lineup after missing several games with an injury, and he ran the Panther offense to perfection.
Lumberton ran for 227 yards on 44 carries, an average of 5.16 yards per rush, and Bowens was 12 of 14 passing for 113 yards and three touchdowns.
“We’ve got a lot of weapons, you know?” said Bowens. “We’ve just got to get the ball in their hands and make plays. As a team, we trust each other. We put it in the players’ hands and let them go to work.”
In all, eight players had at least one run for the Panthers.
“We rotated about four backs in the game all the time,” said Ladner. “That’s a testament to a place like Lumberton. You’re always going to have athletes here, and kids love football in Lumberton.
“It never ceases to amazing how much these kids know about football. We move kids around a lot, and they know the system, know what each position is supposed to do.”
But the story of the game was the Lumberton defense, which completely overwhelmed the young Eagles. The Panthers held Resurrection to just two first downs, a net of 33 yards of offense, and did not allow a third or fourth down conversion all night.
“Lumberton is all about that defense,” said senior defensive tackle Kyrion Chaney. “We’ve got this thing where we get rewards if we pitch a shutout, so we always want to put a zero up there for the other team. Defense wins championships.”
Lumberton showed off its versatile attack on the opening possession of the game, taking the opening kickoff 80 yards on 11 plays.
Ladner showed his confidence in his offense and defense right from the start. Three plays into the game, the Panthers faced a fourth-and 2 from their own 28-yard-line, but Ladner never hesitated. He went for it and junior Gabe Franklin converted with a 4-yard run.
“Getting Lathan back this week was a big lift,” said Ladner. “I thought last week, playing Salem, our freshman quarterback did a nice job of running the offense.
“But Lathan got cleared, so we started him tonight, and he came out crisp, like he’d never missed a game. He was sharp with his throws and his runs, and we did what a good offense is supposed to do, converted third downs and found a way into the end zone.”
For the game, Lumberton was 7 of 14 on third down, 3 of 4 on fourth down, and held the ball for 30 minutes, 22 seconds to just 17:38 for the Eagles.
“We practice every day on situations like that,” said Bowens. “Third-and-short, third-and-long, fourth down, you got to go for it. We out our trust in our offensive line, and they get it done.”
Senior Chase Toney had a 26-yard gain on a sweep around left end, Franklin had a 15-yard pickup and Bowens got the first touchdown on a 19-yard pass to Toney, who finished with six catches for 55 yards.
“We’ve kind of evolved from a running team,” said Toney. “We’ve got a quarterback who can run and throw, and we’ve got receivers who can catch it. We’ve got running backs that can run too, but it’s like we can open up our playbook more now, with the weapons we have.”
After a quick three-and-out, Lumberton went back to work on a 67-yard, 11-play scoring drive. Bowens had a 17-yard run to put the Panthers in a goal-to-go situation at the Eagle 5, and he had runs of 3 and 2 yards to get the touchdown.
“I love my line,” said Bowens. “They keep us going. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we’re at right now. Every game, we put the game in their hands. Everything goes through them.”
Freshman back-up quarterback Jatyius Adams worked the second quarter, and the Panthers sputtered a bit, failing to score in the period, and the teams went to halftime with Lumberton holding a 12-0 lead.
“I thought Jatyius played well when he was in there,” said Ladner. “We just had a couple of bad snaps and a couple of bad penalties that put us behind the chains. But I can’t say enough about or offensive line, and them being comfortable with Lathan.”
The defense revved up the heat in the second half against Eagle quarterback Cortez King, an eighth-grader who took his lumps. The Panthers got a quick three-and-out to start the third quarter, including a 6-yard sack.
“We’re trying to stay undefeated in our region,” said Toney. “That was our top motivation. We want to be playing the right way going into the playoffs.”
Getting the ball at their own 39-yard-line, Lumberton embarked on another grinding drive to simply wore down Eagles. The Panthers converted two third downs and a fourth down, and got the score on a 24-yard pass from Bowens to junior tight end Charlie Reynolds.
Resurrection had one bright spot, a pair of kickoff returns of 60 and 61 yards by senior Bravery Inabinette to put the Eagles in position to make a game of it.
However, the Panthers picked off a pass from the Panther 28 to stop one drive, a fourth-down sack at the Panther 17 stopped another Eagle effort, and the Panthers kept the shutout with a goal-line stand at the 1-yard-line.
“You’ve got to come through The Pit, man,” said Chaney. “You come to The Pit, you get that Lumberton defense and that atmosphere when you play here.”
Lumberton added its final score midway through the fourth quarter on a 34-yard pass from Bowens to senior Nygel Holder.
Franklin led the Panthers on the ground with 61 yards on 12 carries and Bowens added 50 yards on 10 rushes.
The Panthers won’t know their playoff opponent until Friday, when South Delta and Show battle for the No. 3 spot in Region 5-1A, with the loser coming to Lumberton.
The Panthers will be gunning for their sixth state title, and whoever seeks to derail them will have to do it at the stadium affectionately known as The Pit.
“Our guys love playing here,” said Ladner. “When they come down that hill before the game, it means something to them. It’s a pride thing. We just play better at home, and the bottom line is people are going to have to come here
“There’s just something about November in Lumberton.”
Follow @PineBeltSPORTS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
