Bancroft-Rosalie loses at home to Winside

The Bancroft-Rosalie Panthers lost what was probably their best chance at a win as they fell 44-22 at home to Winside Friday night.

The Wildcats scored 16 first quarter points and won the second quarter 20-14 to lead 36-14 at halftime.

Bancroft-Rosalie shutout Winside 8-0 in the third quarter to make it a 36-22 game at the end of three.

The Wildcats finished things off in the fourth quarter with 8 points compared to none for the Panthers.

Trent Gatewood was 10-17 passing for 120 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Gatewood added 61 yards rushing on 9 carries, including a touchdown.

Austin Bruning led all players with 21 tackles. Jacob Zuhlke had 14 while Tanner Bonneau totaled 9. Kenyan Lovejoy notched 8 while Zach Bridges posted 7.

Bancroft-Rosalie had their chances to comeback in the second half, but unfortunately the Panthers didn't make enough plays offensively to get the job done.

A slow start really proved to be costly for Bancroft-Rosalie.

The Panthers (0-5) take on Emerson-Hubbard (3-2) on the road Friday night.

The Pirates lost 46-12 at home to Wynot this past Friday night, but are still a respectable team.

However, it's not like Emerson-Hubbard is leaps and bounds better than Bancroft-Rosalie.

The Pirates are the better team on paper, yes, but if the Panthers start off better than they did against Winside, and play a complete game, anything can happen.

The game being on the road hurts Bancroft-Rosalie's chances, but the Panthers have to keep believing they can win and keep fighting until the very end.

Sooner or later something good has to happen for Bancroft-Rosalie.

The Panthers probably have to win at least two out of their last three games, and maybe all three, to qualify for the playoffs.

I know the postseason may sound like a fairy tale for Bancroft-Rosalie right now, but anything can happen if the Panthers play better and catch some breaks.

Friday night is essentially Bancroft-Rosalie's season in terms of extending it.

It's pretty much a must win if the Panthers are to play at least one more game this season.

The time for Bancroft-Rosalie football is winding down with it being their last season as a team so the Panthers have to make the most of what is left of this season.