Photo taken on 7/7/24 by Titus Wilkinson. Daquan Neal attempts pass.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- After clinching a playoff berth on June 29th when they beat the Vegas Night Hawks the Panthers looked to keep the good times rolling against the Northern Arizona Wranglers.

The first matchup of the season between these two teams went in favor of the Panthers as they squeaked out a 39-36 win over the Wranglers.

The Panthers got off to a quick start as less than a minute in Daquan Neal found Joshua Tomas for 28 yards to get them on the board.

Northern Arizona responded with a field goal on their next possession but once again Neal was able to find Tomas for another touchdown making it a 14-3 score. The touchdown was not an easy one as Neal made the pass while being hit but was still able to drop it right into Tomas’s hands.

Defensively the Panthers looked stout holding the Wranglers to four third downs in just the first half. The Wranglers were only able to convert on two out of those four third downs.

The domination only continued in the second as the Panthers scored on a fourth down conversion with Neal this time hitting JT Stokes with a dime.

Sputtering on offense the Wranglers once again had to settle for a field goal putting the score at 21-7.

Neal then completed his fourth touchdown pass of the first half to Pieer Williams continuing his dominant play.

Northern Arizona was finally able to get their first touchdown of the game as quarterback Joshua Jones rushed for a yard and fought his way across the goal line making it a 28-13 game. The Wranglers also successfully attempted a dropkick afterwards getting them the extra two points.

Right before the half was out the Panthers got a rushing touchdown of their own Shane Simpson charged his way into the end zone for five yards. The Panthers would miss the extra point afterwards keeping the score at 34-15 at the end of the first half.

The third quarter saw both offenses struggle as points wouldn’t be put up until the 5:12 mark when Neal completed his fifth touchdown pass of the game to Stokes.

The Wranglers then proceeded to respond with a touchdown of their own right before time expired as Jones completed a pass to Tosin Oyekanmi for 11 yards. Northern Arizona also convereted on the drop kick making it a 40-23 game.

With a 17 point lead heading into the fourth things seemed to be under control for the Panthers but that would change.

That feeling was only affirmed when Neal found Stokes again for 13 yards for another touchdown though they would miss the extra point.

After the touchdown things quickly began to fall apart.

It started with Jones completing a touchdown pass to Oyekanmi for 14 yards plus another convert on a dropkick which made the score 46-31.

The Wranglers then recovered the ball on an onside kick and after a lengthy drive were able to score as Jones rushed into the end zone for 6 yards.

With only 1:06 left the Wranglers would need another miracle and they got one as they again recovered an onside kick.

Now down to 57 seconds the time was not on Northern Arizona’s side but they marched down the field and scored as Jones found Gen Coleman II for the touchdown. After converting on the dropkick the score was now just a one point difference at 46-45.

Now with only one option the Wranglers had to attempt another drop kick though this one would be the length of the field. For Axel Perez that did not seem to matter as he drilled it through the uprights giving the Wranglers their first lead of the game with four seconds left on the clock.

The Panthers would attempt a lengthy field goal of their own late but failed to convert as they lost 47-46.

Neal finished the game going 13-18 with six touchdown passes, and a total of 171 yards thrown. Jones on the other hand went 28-52 with three touchdown passes, and a total of 290 yards thrown.

The loss today was only Bay Area’s third of the season and drops their record to 11-3. For the Wranglers the win brings them up 9-5 and keeps their playoffs hope alive.

The Panthers will look to rebound on Saturday in their final home game of the regular season against the Duke City Gladiators at 6:05 p.m.