Panthers overcome injuries to clinch playoff spot
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan Panthers have dealt with a slew of injuries this season to some top guys but that hasn’t stopped them from clinching a postseason birth for a second straight year.
The Panthers defeated the DC Defenders on Sunday, 22-6 to move to 5-2 on the year and secure the second-best record in the USFL Conference of the United Football League with three games remaining. This is the Panthers’ third straight win.
“Really pleased with the way our team came out early,” head coach Mike Nolan said in the postgame press conference. “That’s a very good team, DC is, and I feel fortunate we were able to come away with the victory.”
It didn’t start great for the Panthers as they were coming in with the news that star linebacker Frank Ginda was put on the injured reserve list and might be done for the year. They were still without starting quarterback EJ Perry and his backup, Danny Etling, was ruled out just before the game as well.
That meant former Michigan State Spartan Brian Lewerke would make his first career start and be doing it on the road in a very tough environment in Audi Field where the Defenders had only lost once in the past two seasons.
To make matters worse, Michigan would receive the opening kickoff, and Gavin Holmes slipped on the turf and muffed the ball, which rolled into the endzone before he was able to bring it out to the 6-yard line.
But the bad field position did not matter as the Panthers moved down the field thanks in large part to the running game. Matthew Colburn would have two huge runs, including a 53-yard scamper which would eventually lead to a short run by Lewerke for a touchdown.
On the next drive, newly signed quarterback Bryce Perkins took over behind center and helped the Panthers get back into scoring position where Colburn ran over the goal line to make it 13-0 in the first quarter. Each game the Panthers have scored in the first quarter this season has resulted in a win.
The Defenders would strike back with a long play of their own as quarterback Jordan Ta’amu threw a slant to Ty Scott who took it 70 yards for a touchdown making it 13-6.
Michigan would go three and out on their next drive but a DC muffed punt would give them the ball back and in great field position. Unfortunately, a bad snap and a penalty took them out of the red zone but as he’s done all season, kicker Jake Bates was able to place the ball through the uprights for three points.
The Panthers would be able to get in range for another Bates field goal right before halftime to make it 19-6 going into the break. And the game really was over after that.
Both defenses showed out in the final two quarters as both offenses could only muster three points a piece. The Panthers pulled out the win, 22-9.
The story of the game was not only the dominating defense but the ground game, which Michigan leaned on with two quarterbacks making their first appearances of the season. The Panthers rushed for 187 total yards with 137 coming from Colburn and a touchdown.
“As far as the run game, just trust in it,” Colburn said in the postgame press conference. “Just trust in the guys up front. We’re all on the same page, all in sync … it’s just a credit to what we do during the week and it showed today.”
As for the quarterbacks, both split series throughout the game with Lewerke accounting for the only touchdown between them but Perkins recorded a near 160 quarterback rating as he went 11-13 for 116 yards.
“I thought both the quarterbacks did a good job,” head coach Mike Nolan said in the postgame press conference. “They both managed the game very well.”
A timetable on who will start going forward has not been announced.
The Panthers look to continue their winning ways and possibly challenge the Birmingham Stallions for the top seed in the USFL Conference on Saturday against the Memphis Showboats at Ford Field. That game is set to kick off at 4 p.m.
The Panthers and Stallions will face off again in Week 10, the final regular season game, and then again in the conference championship game. The winner of that game will take on the winner of the XFL Conference Championship in the first-ever UFL Championship in St. Louis on June 16.
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