WIMBERLEY – After earning a “bye” in the bi-district round of the Class 2A Division II playoffs, the Karnes City Badgers looked to keep their season going strong as the Blanco Panthers stood in their way on Friday night. When the smoke cleared in this low-scoring affair, the Badgers were on the short end of the deal as the Panthers edged out the Badgers by the score of 21-14. The loss ended Karnes City’s football season with an overall record of 9-2.

“We came into that game wanting to win,” said Karnes City head coach Jim Wood. “We’re disappointed in losing, but the kids fought well. It went down to the last minute. I was proud of the kids.”

The Panthers scored the only touchdowns of the first half, one in each quarter. The first quarter’s score came with 9:41 on the clock as Tim Goodman scored on a 28-yard run, with Aikman Elrod kicking the PAT. The second quarter’s score came with 10:10 to go on a 2-yard run by Colton Elrod, though the missed PAT left the score at 13-0 at the half.

The Badgers came back in the second half, scoring twice in the fourth quarter. The first score came at the 11:06 mark on a 6-yard run by Dylan Lopez, with John Garcia’s PAT splitting the uprights. The second score came with 4:26 on the clock on a 22-yard run by Lopez. Garcia’s kick gave the Badgers a 14-13 lead. The Panthers, however, had the last score of the contest as Goodman scored on a 6-yard run with 1:05 left in the game. Sam Isenberg connected with Colton Elrod on the two-point conversion to give the Panthers the 21-14 lead that stood as time expired.

Statistically, the Badgers gained 282 yards of total offense, with 169 yards rushing over 36 carries and 113 yards passing over 10 completions. The Panthers, by comparison, gained 164 yards of total offense, with 156 yards rushing over 39 carries and one 8-yard pass completion. Penalties were minimal as both teams were flagged twice, with the Badgers being penalized for 10 total yards and the Panthers being penalized for eight total yards.

Despite the loss, Wood looks to keep the momentum of the football season going into other sports throughout the remainder of the school year.

“The one thing in our whole athletic program is to build confidence” said Wood. “I had a great group of seniors. Everybody did their role and we had a successful team.”