MIAMI, OKLAHOMA -- In a back-and-forth battle, the Ellsworth Panthers saw a halftime lead disappear and the Panthers lost a road contest to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Saturday. The hosts prevailed, 27-24, scoring the go-ahead TD in the final quarter.
Ellsworth QB Josh Bauer had a strong game, throwing for 217 yards and rushing for a pair of touchdowns.
The Panthers were ahead 10-6 at intermission and tallied 14 fourth-quarter points, but came up short in their bid for a road win.
Malcolm Gillie was Bauer's favorite target, hauling in 9 passes for 143 yards, including a 38-yard catch. The Panthers accounted for 332 yards of total offense -- 217 through the air and another 115 yards on the ground. Bauer led the ground attack with 94 yards and scored twice. In addition to Bauer's two TDs, Marice Whitlock also scored for ECC. Gillie's 9 receptions were followed by one each for Tate Lahr, JJ Mucha-Owens, Aghogho Eyafe, Deablo McGee and Diante Huffman.
It was only the second-ever meeting on the gridiron between ECC and NEO. The other contest was in 2012. Ellsworth will take on a ranked Iowa Central team next Saturday at Cadet Field.