The 2018 high school football regular season came to an end on Friday night as teams were playing for district titles and playoff seeding.  The Austin Panthers hosted Burges at R.E. McKee Stadium on a cool, windy November evening to determine who would solidify the number two seed in District 2-5A.  The game turned out to be a defensive battle of wits as the Panthers held on for the narrow 7-6 victory.

In the ultimate game of chess Burges committed the first error of the game as quarterback Oscar Maldonado threw an interception at the Mustang's 41 yard line at the 6:13 mark of the first quarter, but the Panthers could do nothing with the Ponies' turnover.  At the 10:14 mark of the second quarter, Austin running back Will "Da Beast" Rodriguez put the Panthers on the board with a 32-yard touchdown run.  Early in the second half the Mustangs scored as Robert Hall rushed for an impressive 55-yard touchdown, however, Burges gambled and lost as they went for two and did not convert, which proved to be the difference in a close contest.

Burges had one last chance to win the game towards the end but QB Maldonado was sacked by Luis "the hulk" Rangel with seconds remaining at the Panther's 25 and time expired as the Mustangs had no time outs remaining to give Austin the victory and the second overall seed in District 2-5A.  Panther's running back Will Rodriguez finished with 106 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown, while Burges RB Robert Hall had 72 yards on 8 carries and a touchdown as well.

Austin concludes the regular season with an 8-2 record, 5-1 in 2-5A and will host Canutillo in the BI-District playoffs next Thursday at 7 pm.  Burges finishes their 2018 campaign with a 6-3-1 record, 4-2 in District 2-5A, and will travel to Horizon next week to begin their post season.

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