Maybe the storybook ending of the Rappahannock County Panthers’ unlikely last-second win over Chincoteague last Friday was meant to be. The stage had been set. Not only was it the last home game of the season, but also senior members of the band and fall athletic teams were honored before the game, and then at halftime, this year’s Homecoming court was introduced to the crowd.
Even the Panthers mascot got a new name – Roary.
Slideshow: RCHS Homecoming Football Game, Oct. 14, 2022
With so much to celebrate, including potentially a fifth win in a row by the team, fans began arriving two hours before the game. Some spent time tossing footballs in the parking lot; others lined up for a taste of fried oreos, cooked by Stephanie Cash, a special education aide at the school. She’s also a junior class sponsor and was looking forward to a big crowd that could boost her fundraising efforts.
“People are coming out to support the team, especially now that it’s doing so well this season,” she said. “Something like this really brings the community together.”
A little more than an hour before the opening kickoff, the bus carrying the Chincoteague Ponies team arrived, ending a five-hour bus ride across the state. That would seem to give an advantage to the home team, and the first half played out that way, with the Panthers building a two-touchdown margin.
But the tide began to turn in the third quarter and, with just under six minutes to play, the stunned, overflow crowd watched as Chincoteague took the lead. The situation looked particularly bleak when a long run by Rappahannock sophomore Gage Whitt was overturned by a holding penalty. Soon, though, the Panthers got their break – a roughing-the-passer penalty that gave the team one last shot at the end zone with six seconds to play.
As time ran out, quarterback Dylan Hensler lofted the ball in the direction of tight end Brandon Pullen. Both Hensler and Pullen had been injured earlier in the fourth quarter; the former had the wind knocked out of him, and the latter hurt his foot. In fact, this was Pullen’s first time back on the field since he had limped off.
But Pullen had one more leap left, and though well covered, he was able to reach over the defender and pull in the ball. The crowd, which seconds earlier had been expecting the worst, roared with joy and disbelief.
Final score: Rappahannock 36, Chincoteague, 33.
– Randy Rieland for Foothills Forum
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