The VSS Panthers grounded the Fulton Maroons 12-8 in Interior Junior Varsity Football League action Thursday afternoon at Grahame Park.

Colton Klein of the Panthers recovered a fumble off the opening kick off.

The Panthers marched 35 yards for a 6-0 lead, with Caton Garvie throwing a three-yard touchdown pass to Brett Lemiski. It was 6-0 Cats at the half.

Fulton scored in the third quarter on a long 10-minute drive, ending in a short scamper by running back Kyle Richardson, who also ran in for the two-point convert to make it 8-6 Fulton.

With five minutes remaining, VSS then took the ball and went 80 yards to go ahead, with 1:51 to play, with tailback Keaton Hubner scoring on a one-yard run to make it 12-8. The two point convert failed.

VSS then registered a short kick and Fulton took over at midfield. The Panthers held the Maroons on four downs and ran the clock out.

“We were two evenly-matched teams, and our boys were fortunate that we put together a good drive to start the game and to end the game,” said VSS head coach Sean Smith.

“Fulton played us real tough in between. Hats off to their defence, who shut us down for most of the match, and took away our passing game.”

Hubner recorded 28 carries for 132 yards, while Garvie completed two of seven passes for six yards. He tossed one interception.

Jordan Montguire and Perry Klymchuk, with five tackles each, led the Panthers.

“On the last drive, when the game was on the line, our O-line stepped up and created big holes,” said Smith. “I told the O-line at halftime that they would win or lose us the game. While they waited a bit too long for my liking – they came up big when needed.”

Fulton quarterback Austin Richardson went 7-for-8 in the air for 45 yards, while Kyle Richardson racked up 102 yards on the ground.

Clayton Mottus was Fulton’s top receiver with 23 yards on four catches.

On defence, Lucas Hofer led the Maroons with a dozen tackes. Matt Eso (7), Kyle Richardson (5), Devon Harris (4) and Matt Kane (3), who added an interception, also made big stops.

“Our defence played well throughout the game, and we did a good job of containing their quarterback, who is pretty quick,” said Fulton head coach Mike Scheller. “For the most part we tackled well defensively, and did not make many mental mistakes.

“This was the very first year of JV football at Fulton. While we did not have much success in terms of wins, it was good season.

“We had a lot of inexperienced players, who got better as the year progressed. As coaches, we were very happy with their effort and attitude all season.”