Knox Central’s Steve Partin continued his impressive season throwing a touchdown while finding the end zone four times carrying the ball but it wasn’t enough as the Panthers fell to Paintsville on Friday, 35-30.
Dustin Buckner’s squad is still missing numerous starters due to injuries, and it showed Friday with the Tigers jumping out early on Knox Central.
Paintsville wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. The Tigers found the end zone on their first drive as a 45-yard touchdown pass gave them a 7-0 lead with 10:25 remaining in the first quarter.
Paintsville added another touchdown on its ensuing drive, a 27-yard run, while increasing its lead to 14-0 with 8:09 left in the first quarter.
Knox Central continued to fight, and managed to cut its deficit to 14-6 at the 4:10 mark of the first quarter thanks to a two-yard touchdown run by Steven Partin.
After Knox Central’s defense forced a turnover, Panther coach made a crucial call and converted on a fourth and five situation that set up Partin’s second rushing touchdown of the game, a 10-yarder as Knox Central’s deficit was cut to 14-12 with 9:02 left in the second quarter.
The Tigers regained the momentum by marching downfield and scoring on a 12-yard run. They added the PAT to push their lead to 21-12 at the 4:33 mark of the first half.
The Panthers came roaring back on their next drive. Knox Central converted three fourth down conversions and eventually score right before the half behind a 37-yard touchdown pass from Partin to KT Turner to cut its deficit to 21-18 at halftime.
Partin added his third rushing touchdown from five yards out to give the Panthers a 24-21 lead at the 8:09 mark of the third quarter but it was short lived.
Paintsville answered with two consecutive touchdowns to claim a 35-24 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Down but not out, Knox Central continues to remaining in the game thanks to Partin’s fourth rushing touchdown. His 31-yard run set up his five-yard score while cutting Paintsville’s lead to 35-30 with 10:56 left in regulation.
The Panthers had a chance with two minutes remaining to reclaim the lead but a fumble at Paintsville’s 10-yard line was recovered by the Tigers, and they proceeded to run out the clock.
