Mountain Grove falls in season opener to Fair Grove

While there was a lot of excitement in the air when the Mountain Grove Panthers’ football team kicked off their season back on Aug. 30, new head coach Dan Swofford knew his squad had their hands full with state-ranked Fair Grove coming into town.
Though the Panthers did fall by the final score of 41-20, Mountain Grove won the second half, 20-13, as their offseason conditioning program help the players to battle hard until the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Early on, Mountain Grove’s defense held their ground as Kaden Murphy recovered a fumble to stop the Eagles’ first drive.
Unfortunately, the officials said there was an inadvertent whistle, giving Fair Grove the ball back. The setback did not phase the Panthers’ defense as they would force a turnover on downs three plays later.
Mountain Grove’s first offensive drive ended with a quick punt. Fair Grove responded with a 26-yard run.
They would end a 65-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown run. A good extra-point kick gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
On their next possession, a bad snap on fourth down led to the Eagles recovering the ball on the Panthers’ 14.
Two plays later, a two-yard touchdown run pushed the lead to 14-0.
Early in the second quarter, Jacob Crosco was credited for a tackle for a six-yard loss.
Eleven plays later, the Eagles did score though on a seven-yard touchdown pass. The extra-point kick pushed the lead to 21-0.
A punt block would then set up the Eagles’ next score after they started a drive on the Panthers’ 38. In two plays, they scored on a 36-yard touchdown pass. The kick gave them a 28-0 edge.
In the first half, the Panthers’ offense would tally just eight total yards due to lost yardage. Meanwhile, Fair Grove had 98 yards passing and 183 on the ground for 271 total yards.
Back-to-back lightning delays led to the second half not starting until after 9 p.m.
Mountain Grove’s offense responded just as they needed to on their opening drive of the second half. They started with the ball on their own 27. Estep had a big 15-yard run. He then connected with Brayden Haughey for a 36-yard passing play. Estep would then score on a nine-yard touchdown run.
Haughey’s extra-point kick made the score 28-6.
Fair Grove’s offense answered three plays later with a deep 62-yard passing play. A failed kick kept the score at 34-7.
The Panthers responded once again though with a 78-yard drive  Estep had a big 26-yard run before scoring on a 36-yard touchdown run. The extra-point kick made it a 34-14 game.
Haughey would have a near 60-yard punt on the next series. That was followed three plays later by Hoerning’s interception.
Mountain Grove had the ball near midfield, but the offense was unable to take advantage of the field position.
Fair Grove would add a 21-yard touchdown run with 2:41 left on the clock.
Down 41-14, Estep responded on the Panthers’ next offensive play with a 63-yard touchdown run. A two-point conversion failed, leading to the final being 41-20.
The Panthers’ offense did finish with 36 yards passing and 184 yards rushing for 220 total yards of offense.
Estep completed his one pass for 36 yards. He did tally 19 carries for 160 yards and three touchdowns.
Murphy added 22 yards rushing on eight carries.
Meanwhile, Fair Grove had 158 yards passing and 181 on the ground for 339 total yards of offense.