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Imhotep begins season with a hard fought win over Clarkson-North, Prater seals game with great catch

Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News

| August 24, 2024

It was tough sledding for the Panther run game but Joe McLeish made up for the struggles.

Imagine driving 8 hours to put your first football game of the year and you have to face A-Team like Imhotep last year ran the table and won the PIAA class 5A title. Clarkson North did just that and put up one heck of a fight against the defending champions but in the end they came up short and Imhotep pulled away for a 38-20 win. New quarterback Joe McLeish threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns.

“That’s a great football team over there. Hat’s off to coach. They traveled a long way to get here and played a good game” said Panthers head coach Devon Johnson.

The win didn’t come easy. Clarkson north actually took the lead early in the game on a one yard td run by Lucas Shannon. The point after was true giving Clarkson North a 7-0 lead early in the game. Shannon ran for 128 yards on the night.

Imhotep missed a field goal on their second possession of the evening but struck paydirt on their next drive when Jabree Coleman went in from the 1. That kick missed and it was 7-6 North. The Tep defense forced a punt that was fielded by Isaiah Prater. The speedy junior made a move, cut to the left and was off to the races for a 72 yard punt return. The two pointer made it a 14-6 lead and the Panthers never looked back. That was the score at halftime.

Imhotep was the benefactor of a short field thanks to a defensive stand that gave the Panthers a short field at the North 35. McLeish found Zaire Pollard for a 23 yard score making it a 20-7 game with nine minutes left in the third.

North battled back and drove to the Tep 11 but the Panther defense held tough. Coleman busted off a 39 yard run and several plays later McLeish called his own number from five yards out to make it a 26-7 Tep lead.

Clarkson battled back making it 26-14 on a 23 yard td run by Shannon. The the team from the North held the Panthers and made it a 26-20 game with 11:24 to play in the game. Winston Chapman called his own number and scampered 21 yards for the TD.

 

Imhotep drove 87 yards and scored on a beautiful catch by Prater to go up 32-20.

Coleman sealed the game with a 1 yard run.

 

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