Saints 3 Panthers 20 summary ....... The Saints let the Panthers hang around in the first half, then gave the game away to them in the second. play-by-play ............ Good coverage on the opening kickoff forced the Panthers to start from their own 15. Carolina failed to gain a 1st and punted to the Saints, giving the visitors the ball at their own 40. Jim Everett hit Michael Haynes on a slant-in for 20 on the Saints' first play from scrimmage, but the QB threw incomplete behind Quinn Early on 3rd & 4 two plays later. Perhaps not wanting to further damage Chip Lohmiller's self image, the coaches elected to go for it on 4th & 4 from the 34. The result was an incomplete pass. The Panthers' next series went backwards thanks to an attempted chop block on Wayne Martin and a sack by the defensive lineman two plays later. A fair catch of the punt gave the O the ball at the NO 44. A throw to Early and two runs by Mario Bates picked up a total of 12 yds, but the Saints were unable to get another 1st. Klaus Wilmsmeyer's punt went into the endzone for a touchback. The D gave up a 7 yd pass to Metzelaars on 3rd & 6, but they didn't allow Carolina to move the sticks a second time. The O took over at their own 32. On 3rd & 2 from the 40, Everett threw a looper to Wesley Walls that put the ball at the Panther 38. Bates picked up the necessary yardage on 3rd & 2 from the 30, then Early made a good catch on 3rd & 3 to give the Saints a 1st at the 15. The drive then stalled, and Lohmiller managed to sneak a 29 yarder inside the upright to give the Saints a 3-0 lead with 13:25 left in the second quarter. A penalty on the ensuing kickoff forced Carolina to start at their own 11, and again the D held them first down-less. The O took over at midfield. However, the Saints were unable to pick up any yards, due in part to ex-Saint Darrion Conner snuffing out a Torrance Small end-around. Once again, Wilmsmeyer punted the ball into the endzone. The D gave Carolina a free 1st on 3rd & 2 from the 28 when Ernest Dixon jumped offside, but the Panthers were unable to earn a 1st of their own. Ex-Saint Tommy Barnhardt's punt pushed the Saints back to the 15. Three plays by the Saints offense netted only 4 yds, and Wilmsmeyer's weak punt was fair caught at midfield. The Panthers picked up 22 yds in 3 plays, then kicked a 45 yd FG to tie the game. The Saint O showed a little life with an 8 yd catch by Lorenzo Neal, a 3 yd Bates run, a 5 yd Early catch, and a 4 yd Haynes catch. After Everett snuck for the 1st, he hit Haynes for 10 to put the ball at the Carolina 46. The drive ended when the refs failed to call what seemed to be pass interference on a 3rd & 8 play. Instead of kicking the ball into the endzone again, Wilmsmeyer got creative- he gave the Panthers the ball at the 20 by executing a 24 yd punt. The Panthers ran out the first half clock. Despite a dominating half by the Saint defense, the score was tied. In the opening drive of the second half, Bates ran for 5 yds, then 4 yds, then just less than 1 yd. The Saints punted away to the Panthers, who once again went 3 & punt to give the O the ball at the NO 40. However, on 3rd & 2 ex-Saint Brett Maxie intercepted Everett at midfield. The Panthers were unable to do anything with the ball, though. Three plays netted one yd, and their punt went for a touchback. Ah, but the Saints were still in a generous mood. On the first play of the ensuing drive, ex-Saint Sam Mills deflected a pass to Maxie, who grabbed his second INT of the day. This time the Panthers took advantage of the turnover, using a 13 yd Carrier catch and an 8 yd Moore run to set up Griffith's 2 yd TD run. The Saints started the next drive at the 39 thanks to a Tyrone Hughes return plus a 5 yd facemask, but on 3rd & 9 from the 40 a pressured Everett threw his third INT in a 6 minute span, giving Carolina the ball at the NO 20. The D appeared to force a 3rd & 9 situation, but Martin was flagged for shoving a Panther after the Carolinian slapped the Saint on the back of the helmet. Griffith soon caught a 1 yd TD pass to put Carolina up by 2 TDs with 4:11 left in the third quarter. For the 5th time in as many second half possessions, the Saints failed to gain a first down. An illegal block on the punt made Carolina start at their own 14, but three plays later a defensive screw-up allowed Moore to easily run 32 yds down to the NO 42. The Panthers wound up kicking a 37 yd FG to go up by 17 with 12:41 left in the game. The offense entered hurry-up mode and had some success against Carolina's prevent defense while driving to the Panther 10. However, a throw into the endzone produced a fight for the ball between Mills and Walls, and the refs awarded the ball to the Field Mouse. The D forced another 3 & punt series, and the O was able to move the ball down to Carolina's one. However, the Saints were unable to score. The D produced another 3 & punt series and gave the O the ball at the Panther 37, but by this time there was only 2:33 remaining. In any case, Derrick Ned fumbled away a screen pass on the drive's first play. The Panthers punted the ball back to the Saints once more before time expired. drive chart & stats ................... (P)unt, (M)issed FG, (E)nd of period, (F)umble, (I)nterception, out of (D)owns 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G S >>>>>>>>>>>>>D 2:18 A >>>>>>>>P 3:24 I >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 5:33 Lohmiller N P 1:05 T >>P 2:08 S >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P 3:52 | ....................................................halftime | >>>>>P 2:18 | >>>>I :47 | I :09 | >I 2:07 | >P 1:34 | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I 2:21 | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>D 4:57 | >>F :15 | >>>>>E :19 | ....................................................gameover | 33:07 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G P >P 1:24 A P<<<<<<<< 1:29 N >>>>>>P 2:27 T P<< 1:24 H >>>>>>>>>>>P 1:33 E >>>>>>>>>>>3 2:23 Kasay R >>E 1:00 S ....................................................halftime | P<<< :56 | >P 1:52 | >>>>>>>>>>>>7 1:19 Griffith | >>>>>>>>>>7 1:21 Griffith | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 4:56 Kasay | P 1:45 | >>P 1:05 | P<< 1:59 | ....................................................gameover | 26:53 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G .......throwin' & catchin'...../...runnin'.... Everett 2- 5 Bates 1- 4 17-43 Brown 3- 10 5-15 Neal 2- 14 Ned 1- 9 3- 1 Walls 4- 56 Smith Botkin Haynes 5- 48 Early 7- 50 Small 1- 0 Rhem 4- 50 incomplete 21 intercepted 4 27-48-241-0-4 28-64 Panthers: Moore 21-88 notes ..... * the Panthers blitzed up the middle all day, but apparently the Saints couldn't figure out how to adjust * despite the presence of many backups (Turnbull, Tubbs, and Johnson didn't play), the D was great (then again, Carolina's offense was horrible) * our two worst performances this year have come against the two worst teams we've played (Giants & Panthers) * this season is toast ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu