Football is often referred to as a ‘game of inches.’ This was definitely the case in the game between McBee and Hunter-Kinard-Tyler in the first round of Division II Class A State Playoffs last Friday night. The Panthers traveled to Neeses, South Carolina, which is located in Orangeburg County and came within inches of coming back home with a victory. Unfortunately, the Panthers suffered a first round loss by the score of 28-22. The disappointment actually began three weeks ago when the Panthers were defeated at home by Buford, a team that lost five games during the regular season. The Panthers were the better team and sported a record of 8-0 going into the game. The 3-0 loss had supporters wondering if the Panthers were heading in the wrong direction or just happened to have a bad game. After a bye week, the Panthers hosted Chesterfield and played inspired football. Even though they lost to the two time defending State Champs, there was hope that the Panthers would carry away a moral victory by being the only team to score twice in one game against the Rams defense that was only allowing about two points per game. Had the Panthers played this playoff game at home or played more determined and inspired football against Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, they would have advanced to the second round. H-K-T scored on its first possession of the game to go up 8-0. The Panthers responded with their patented game attack and knotted the score at 8-8. H-K-T tacked on another touch down to go ahead 14-8, but the Panthers took it to the house and added the two point conversion to lead 16-14 at the end of the first half. McBee had a number of first and goal situations in the second half but could not cash in on the scoring opportunities. There was a play in the second half in which the runner was called down just short of reaching the end zone. On another play, the Panthers were whistled for a delay of game due to their running a play before the play was whistled to start. Each of these calls could have gone the way of the Panthers and the outcome would have been different. This leads us to contend that the Panthers will have to use this as part of their learning how to finish the game by finishing plays. This is a task that all teams on the verge of becoming championship caliber teams must learn. Yes, the agony of defeat is a bitter pill to swallow. However, in losing, a good team learns what is necessary to become a great team. The Panthers had a good season and the challenge for the team is to build upon the success of this year and prepare for a better future. We would like to thank the Panthers coaching staff for all of the thrills your team gave this football community. Coach Sowell is laying the same foundation Coach Taneyhill and his staff laid at Chesterfield prior to becoming state Champions. The Panthers concluded the season with an 8-3 record. Thanks for the fan support and sportsmanship, shown from the McBee community.