BULLARD – The debut of the 2010 Bullard Panthers will go down as a loss, but like many Bullard hopeful………our Panthers proved they will play with heart, pride and discipline.

Had it not been for four touchdowns by Quitman’s running back, Devontae McNeal, we win!

However after two long, fourth quarter touchdown runs put the game seemingly away the Panthers still battled back..

Although McNeal put a damper on the Bullard Panthers plans for an opening night win, taking a 29-27 win over the Panthers at Panther Stadium, the Panthers intensity and persistence fell in an eventual losing effort.

“Our kids played hard and did not give up which gave us a chance to win,” said the new Panthers head coach, Shannon Wilson. ‘We need to correct first game mistakes.

“We appreciated the big crowd and the youth football league playing a part of opening night,” said Wilson of his head coaching debut.

KIRK BRYANT Bullard led on the scoreboard after one quarter at 7-0, as quarterback Kirk Bryant hit Hunter Skelton on a 41-yard scoring strike at the 5:41 mark which stood for a quarter.

The first two of McNeal’s TD’s came on a three yard run, and a 30-yard reception from Andre Thompson and a two point conversion pass to go with the first of three Jesus Ramirez PAT kicks in the game and a 16-7, Quitman halftime lead.

The Panther defense made some adjustments during halftime and came out to shut down the Bulldogs bulldozer, McNeal.

Meanwhile, D.J. Diduch was scoring his first of two touchdowns with the only score of the third period. Weston Gray tacked on the PAT kick, and Bullard pulled to within two points at 16-14.

Bullard defense dug-in and kept the game close with one of two goal line stands, and then took the ball the length of the field to take a lead at 20-16, as Joe Ganaway scored from 26-yards out.

HUNTER SKELTON McNeal however answered back with two TD sprints within one-minute and 28- seconds seemingly put the game away.

Down 29-20 after the scores, Bullard did not go down without a fight as Diduch bulled over from eight-yards out to narrow the gap to the final two-point loss.

Hunter Skelton played a great game for Bullard making seven catches good for 71 yards, and also made a tackle on fourth and goal to thwart a Bulldogs scoring effort.

McNeal finished the game with 233 yards on 21 carries to lead Quitman (1-0).

Bullard was paced by quarterback, Kirk Bryant with 71 yards on 18 carries and added 168 –yards through the air, hitting on 16-29 and one touchdown.

The Panthers defense did recover a fumble by Colton Mebane to halt another Quitman scoring threat.

Coach Wilson had kudos for a few of the players up front as well as some skill positions.

“I think our offensive linemen Vinny Cottingham and Trevor Rumbelow had great games for us,” Wilson said, “and Kirk Bryant, Joe Ganaway, and Hunter Skelton led the offense while the defense was led by D.J. Diduch, and J.P. Hendrix, and our kicker, Weston Gray was 3-of-3 on point after touchdown attempts.”

Diduch led all Panther tacklers with 15, while J.P. Hendrix made 12 tackles and one for a loss. Hayden Bryant and Trevor Rumbelow added eight tackles each, while Skelton made five stops to go with his seven catches and 81 yards for the offense. Hayden Bryant also made five snags for 52 yards offensively.

Quitman totaled out with 311 yards on the ground, and 55 through the air for a 366 total yards gained in the contest.

Bullard tallied up 139 yards in 32 tries via the ground and added 168 for a total of 307 yards in 61 plays.

Mineola on the road this week for the Panthers and Coach Wilson has had a chance to see what to expect.

“Mineola is a good team,” said Wilson, “they have size and some explosive players.

“We need to improve this week as much as we did last week,” Wilson concluded.

The Panthers (0-1) will look for their first win on the road at Yellowjacket Stadium on Friday night.

ATTACK PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Each week a special teams player will be selected by the BHS coaches, regardless of varsity, JV or freshmen teams and honored as ‘Attack Player of the Week.” The winner is a varsity captain in the following varsity game.

Above left, the Bullard defense congratulates each other on one of two goal line stands in the narrow loss to Quitman, 29-27. Top middle, is Panther quarterback, Kirk Bryant, and underneath Bryant is senior two-way star, Hunter Skelton. Both were named to the East Texas Honor Roll for their efforts last week. Top right, Skelton gets fired up after the Panthers make a big stop against Quitman to keep them out of the end zone. Bottom right, the Panthers making their way to the field of battle. Bottom middle, the BHS crazies’ show their support with ‘Family’ the team motto for the season painted on for the game. Bottom left, The BHS drum corp bangs out the cadence for the band and drill team after pre-game festivities. (Banner Staff Photos by Doc Smith and Courtesy Photos by Panther Post)