The Saint Jo Panthers lost to undefeated, state-ranked Gordon on Thursday night to end their season in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
The Longhorns won 64-14, winning by mercy-rule in a game that looks on paper like a repeat of last year’s playoff loss against the same program.
Still, there were positives to take away from the game despite the final score.
Saint Jo came in as big underdogs against undefeated Gordon.
The Panthers knew the matchup was a big possibility if they did not win the district title which is why Coach Mark Stevens placed such on emphasis on their district game against eventual district champion Union Hill.
Still, Saint Jo was determined to give the Longhorns their best shot.
Unfortunately, the game started about as bad as a coach could hope.
After a tackle for loss on defense, the Panthers allowed Gordon to get loose for a long touchdown run on the second play of the game.
Then on offense, Saint Jo threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown on its first play.
The Panthers offense then was stopped on their next drive before the Longhorns took the ball down and scored fast to make it 24-0 after only four minutes of game action.
It was heading towards the 45-point mercy-rule kicking in at halftime with that type of pace, but Saint Jo rallied heading into the second quarter.
The Panther offense put together a scoring drive with Devin Stewart running for a 24-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 24-8.
Saint Jo almost scored again before halftime, but it was called back on a holding penalty. The Gordon led 40-8 at halftime.
After the Longhorns scored to start the second half, the Panthers scored on special teams when Stewart returned the kick-off back 77 yards for a touchdown.
Gordon picked up their intensity and scored three more times, with the last one coming with four minutes left in the game.
The Longhorns won by mercy-rule 64-14.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.