The Nease Panthers are currently 0-2 after losing in close games to the Creekside Knights and the St. Augustine Yellow Jackets.
Head Coach Collin Drafts lost more than 20 seniors last season, including his veteran core on defense.
“We have work to do; that’s obvious, but we will be okay,” said Drafts.
On Aug. 21, Nease faced a Creekside team that they had easily defeated last season. However, this time it was the Knights who came out with a 21-14 win.
The Panthers went scoreless through the first half and seemed to have a hard time getting organized.
“We just had way too many mistakes across the board,” said Drafts.
Nease came back in the second half and scored a couple of touchdowns, but in the end they could not overcome their inexperience.
One bright spot for the Panthers is the return of junior quarterback Aiden Phifer who threw for 201 yards and had one rushing touchdown against the Knights.
On Aug. 28, the Panthers lost to St. Augustine 28-22. Senior linebacker Chase Bogle had a strong performance for the Panthers picking up three sacks in the game.
Drafts is well respected amongst his colleagues for his work ethic and is no doubt the right person to pull the Panthers out of their current slump.
“Nease runs a good program and Coach Drafts does an amazing job,” said Knights Head Coach Sean McIntyre.
The Panthers’ first two games were full of what Drafts calls “teachable moments,” and he admits that their schedule does not get any easier. Nease will take on the Mainland Buccaneers at home on Sept. 4.
“We are going to focus on what we can do to improve the most,” said Drafts.
