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Roughnecks scratch Panthers

  • Published
  • By John Stuart
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  It was spitting rain and 30-mile-an-hour winds all the way for Thursday night's flag football teamsters. Less than ideal playing conditions you might say.

But that didn't stop the VQ-7 Roughnecks from stepping up with a dominant tour de force to shun the Panthers 20-8.

"Beautiful," is how Roughneck quarterback Janai Holcomb described it.

The Roughnecks (3-1) notched points on the board early, with two touchdowns in the first quarter to put them up 14-0 in the Oct. 21 match. Holcomb hit receiver Nate Ferraro on a 20-yard pass for the first touchdown and connected with Victor Jean shortly after for a 35-yard romp into the end zone.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Holcomb heaved a lofty pass into the expectant hands of Panther defender Milton Hempstead at the Panthers 35 yard line.

Boosted by the interception, the Panthers (1-2) aimed their offense downfield. But the squad was abruptly cut short when Roughnecks defender Luke Felcete intercepted quarterback Casey Walterscheid several plays later.

With less than a minute to play before half time, Holcomb dumped a short pass to Jean over the middle at their own goal line. Jean caught the pass near the line of scrimmage amid numerous defenders but turned on the speed to find an open field and a 98-yard touchdown.

The Roughnecks failed on the two-point conversion but boosted their score to 20-0 as time expired in the second quarter.

The second half was more of a display of man versus nature than a football match, as both teams struggled to gain yardage in the windy drizzle.

Roughnecks defender Joe Collins reeled in an interception on the Panthers' first drive in the third quarter. The momentum was quickly squelched though, as the Panthers regained possession after stopping Holcomb on a crucial fourth down play.

The Panthers offense came through in the fourth quarter but proved too little too late.

Quarterback Walterscheid scored on a 35-yard run up the middle on the team's first possession of the quarter. Walterscheid found Brice Collier in the end zone on the next play with the two-point conversion pass, finishing the game score at 20-8.