LaGrange College Football dropped the opening game of the season 57-12 to East Texas Baptist University. After the first quarter, the Panthers trailed 7-3, were behind 35-6 at the half and found themselves down 42-12 going into the fourth.

Game Details 
In the first, both sides of the ball were locked-in and looked much improved from last season. During the second, LC was in position to make plays on defense, but arm tackling led to the Tigers scoring multiple touchdowns. On offense, the team was able to move the ball down the field but struggled in the red zone in the first half. Going into the break, ETBU led 35-6 after scoring 28 points in the second. Ashton Bryant secured the first LC touchdown of the season on an 18-yard post that was run and thrown perfectly. The Tigers were just too much tonight for the Panthers. ETBU won 57-12.

Offense
Sophomore transfer Henry Brodnax completed 12 of his 26 passes for 108 yards and one touchdown. Goldman Butler VI rushed for 80 yards on 13 carries (6.1 yards per carry). Butler looked agile in open space tonight. It felt like each time he carried the ball, he would spin off at least one would-be tackler. In the late minutes of the game, freshman Tenacious Taylor demonstrated his hard-nosed style of running. The back finished with 17 yards on five attempts (3.4 average).

Defense 
Sophomore linebacker Dezmond Jones finished with a team-high 11 tackles. The team had four tackles for a loss and one pass break-up. Until the very last whistle, the defense swarmed to the ball, stayed calm and did not point fingers even after big plays. 

Top Panther Performance
Tonight's special teams unit shined the brightest. Landon Eaker finished 2/2 on field goals and the kick return team averaged 36 yards per return.

Next up
The Panthers stay on the road to face off against Anderson University (Anderson, S.C.) next Saturday (Sept. 14).