WILMINGTON — On a very warm Friday evening in Clinton County, the Miami Trace Panthers (0-1) took on the Wilmington Hurricane (1-0) in a varsity football contest.

It was a tightly-contested battle that came down to the wire, and the Panthers came up with a late stop on a Wilmington two-point conversion with 40 seconds left that allowed them to hold on for the victory, 21-19.

The Panthers received the opening kickoff and had to punt after three plays.

On Wilmington’s first drive, Miami Trace’s Malachi Jones picked off a pass and returned it to midfield. After a methodical drive, Jones caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Trey Robinette in the back right corner of the end zone. The PAT was successful, making it 7-0.

Wilmington went three-and-out on the next drive.

On the Panthers’ next drive, sophomore running back Julian Baker broke off a big run to get the ball in Hurricane territory. Another big run, this one by junior Cooper Enochs, had Miami Trace just outside the red zone. After a negative play, Robinette ran a read option play, kept the ball and raced 30 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point try was good to make it 14-0 with 10:16 left in the half.

There was a 15-yard penalty on Wilmington during the PAT that was enforced on the kickoff. This allowed Miami Trace to put the ball into the end zone on the kick for a touch back.

The Hurricane put together an 80-yard drive, converting multiple third downs and capping the series off with a 30-yard touchdown pass. The PAT was good and made the score 14-7 in favor of the Panthers with 5:14 remaining in the half.

Miami Trace was forced to punt the ball back to Wilmington on the ensuing possession after Robinette was sacked on third down.

The Panthers answered by sacking the Hurricane quarterback on third down to force a punt of their own.

Miami Trace had to punt the ball away after three quick plays, giving Wilmington the ball at their own 25-yard line with 1:14 remaining in the second quarter.

The Hurricane quickly got the ball to midfield after a roughing the passer penalty was called on the Panthers. A completion down the sidelines got the ball to the Panther 36 with 51.2 seconds left. Later in the drive, Wilmington faced a fourth-and-three and were unable to convert with just seconds left in the half. Miami Trace gained possession and took a knee to take a 14-7 lead into halftime.

Wilmington started the first series of the second half on the 35-yard line after the Panthers kicked the ball out of bounds. The Hurricane converted a third-and-eight to get the ball near the 50. A long run by their quarterback got the ball to the Panther 40, and a holding penalty on the next play brought them back near midfield. On second-and-17, a big completion made it third-and -five. Wilmington converted and got the ball inside the 25. Another completion got them inside the 10, and three plays later the Hurricane would score on a five-yard rush. The snap on the PAT was mishandled, and the attempt was no good, making it 14-13 in favor of the Panthers late in the third quarter. This was the score at the end of the third as well.

Early in the fourth, Miami Trace had the ball near midfield but were forced to punt. Robinette got a good roll on his punt and the ball was downed at the Wilmington four-yard line. In what might have been the turning point in the game, Wilmington fumbled the ball two plays later on a toss sweep and the ball bounced into the end zone where it was recovered by Panther Walker Glispie for a touchdown. The extra point was good to make it 21-13 with 7:53 left in the contest.

Wilmington would use most of the remaining time as they put together a long drive, converting three third downs along the way. The Hurricane found themselves at third-and-goal from the four-yard-line with under a minute remaining. Wilmington would score on the play to make it 21-19, and they went for two and the tie. The Hurricane signal caller tried to keep it on his own but was stopped short of the goal line by the Panther defense.

The Hurricane’s last chance was to recover an onside kick, but Miami Trace pounced on it and took one knee to run the last 40 seconds off of the clock and secure the victory.

Miami Trace head coach Jerry Williams spoke following the win.

“Our defense definitely put us in a position to win tonight. The way the game played out was so opposite of the way the game was last week. We played much more disciplined football. It was a game that definitely was a battle in the trenches.”

He touched on the steps taken to clean up the mistakes from a week ago.

“We worked hard this week to correct our alignment issues and make sure that was correct. We worked hard on our special teams this week. I thought all three phases of the game were effective tonight.”

Williams discussed the heat conditions during the game this evening.

“A lot of people were dropping with cramps and things like that, and they just battled back and stuck it out and I’m very proud of how they played. We were very aware of what the weather was going to be like this week. We talked to them all week about hydration, we changed our practice time to later in the evening to help get prepared, and it was hot tonight.”

Miami Trace (1-1) will travel to take on Logan Elm (2-0) next Friday at 7 p.m.

Wilmington (1-1) will hit the road and take on Mount Healthy (1-1), also at 7 p.m.