Fun fact from CD East’s come-from-behind 28-21 victory over Warwick at The Speedway Thursday night: the last time Warwick lost a football game was October of 2019. That was also the last time CD East won a football game.

That comes courtesy of Panthers new skipper Lance Deane.

In the fourth quarter with the game on the line, CD East found a way to get its first win of the season with 14 fourth-quarter points. Warwick had this game in what felt like a comfortable place everywhere but on the scoreboard. And in the end, not getting more out of its first-half domination proved to be the Warriors downfall.

Time to hand out some grades.

WARWICK WARRIORS

Quarterback: Junior Jack Reed is already pretty good and is only going to get better, although he didn’t finish this one, missing the final series after coming up gimpy. He was decisive where to go with the ball and has wonderful touch on his deep throws — that 84-yard strike to Ryan Fink was a next level throw. He had 220 yards at halftime but finished with only 261. He’s the meal ticket to wins. The pick-6 was a tipped pass and not an errant throw or bad decision. Grade: A-

Running Back: Christian Royer is a horse, and the Warriors coaching staff treated him like one with 25 carries. He managed only 63 yards from that many totes with only one touchdown. To be fair, there wasn’t much room to roam. Grade: B

Wide Receivers: It’s pretty clear Cooper Eckert is the go-to guy in this offense through the air. But he had only five grabs for 43 yards and managed just one catch after halftime. Fink is a solid No. 2 option, and they have another couple options. I didn’t see a single drop. Grade: B+

Offensive Line: Leading by only one touchdown at halftime, the Warriors went conservative and attempted to ride their running game to victory. That means the offensive line has to be winning the battle up front. It was losing some, and at best it was a level playing field. They struggled at times with the pressure and speed of the Panthers. Grade: C+

Defensive Line: This group was solid but not overwhelming. The real heat on this defense comes at the linebacker position. They did do an outstanding job all night getting heat on the quarterbacks. Grade: B

Linebackers: Aaron Hess is rock solid in the middle, and he had a good game. But the real pressure came from the outside guys, Royer and Andrew McClune. They are quick and tackle extremely well. Grade: A

Secondary: I thought Tanner Welk held his own for getting the call to cover Mehki Flowers in single coverage. He did have one pass interference call that was key, but hey, its going to happen. Run support was good. Grade: B+

Special Teams: The onside kick in the first half was a great call, and it was perfectly executed by kicker Gage Meckley. He rolled it along the ground and recovered it. Most kickoffs were pooch kicks, so the return game was eliminated. Overall kicking game was solid. Grade: A-

CD EAST PANTHERS

Quarterback: Starter Tony Powell went down with an ankle injury on the first series of the second half, and it appeared the Panthers were in deep trouble. Powell didn’t show much in the passing game, but that 49-yard scramble and run for a TD was magic. His backup, Terrence Jackson Copney,  had no problem stepping in, and the moment wasn’t too big for him. Guided the Panthers to a come-from-behind win with 14 fourth-quarter points by throwing a TD pass and rushing for a score. Still some work to be done in the passing game, though. Grade: B

Running Back: Marcel McDaniels is sneaky. He’s 5-foot-8 and maybe weighs 160 pounds, but he breaks tackles at the point of attack at times and runs hard. And he has some speed in the open field, too. Led all rushers with 74 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per carry.  Grade: B

Wide Receivers: That circus falling-to-the-ground catch by Tymere Thornton was special. Only two catches, but 77 yards. He did have a drop. And Mehki Flowers is a Penn State recruit for a reason. He’s simply a playmaker. Just get the ball in his hands. Yeah, we saw that block on Powell’s 49-yard TD scamper, too. Grade: A-

Offensive Line: This group was having just an OK night all around until the fourth quarter. They struggled in pass protection a lot, and there were too many snaps over the quarterback’s head. In the fourth quarter, though, they were opening up lanes and holes in the run game and gave Jackson-Copney the time he needed. Grade: C+

Defensive Line: At 300-plus pounds Macario Clark is a lot of human to move around, but it was the few times he flashed for a big guy and made tackles when the back was by him that stood out. Solid push all night in the run game overall. Grade: A-

Linebackers: The Panthers have them some linebackers who are active, aggressive and fast as all get out when given a straight line to the quarterback. Junior Thaddeus Krebs is a star in the making. He’s only 150 pounds, but he hits like a truck and tackles extremely well. He was everywhere. McDaniels off the edge is going to give teams problems. Grade: A

Secondary: Senior Tyrell Ford got beat on that 84-yard catch-and-run, but he recovered. He tailed Eckert all game and limited him to five grabs on 10 or 11 targets. Flowers almost had an interception because he’s a ball hawk, but his run support really stood out.. Grade: B+

Special Teams: Got caught running away from the ball on that onsides kick, and that’s a big-time no-no up front. Flowers finally got his hands on a punt and nearly took it to the house. It was a clutch 39-yard return at a critical time in the game. Every punt looked like it was going to get blocked, so props to Izayah Hitchcock for getting them off. A mixed bag overall. Grade: C+

THE RESULT

New CD East head coach Lance Deane picked up his first career victory on the strength of a gutsy second-half performance from backup quarterback Terrence Jackson-Copney to rally the Panthers to a 28-21 come-from-behind victory over Warwick Thursday night at The Speedway. 

KEYS TO VICTORY

Early in the third quarter, CD East starting quarterback Tony Powell, a transfer from Middletown, went down with an ankle injury and never returned. Warwick dominated the first half and led 21-14 when Powell went down. You could feel the wind come out of the Panthers’ sails. All Jackson-Copney did was guide his team to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, rush for 52 yards and a score and throw for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Lost in all the shuffle of the late-game heroics and fireworks from Jackson-Copney and the offense was the stellar performance by the CD East defense over the final 24 minutes to set the table. The Panthers’ D was lit up in the first half by Warwick, led by quarterback Jack Reed. The Warriors had 277 yards and 21 points at halftime. In the second half all they managed was 73 total yards and zero points.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

In a lopsided first half everywhere but on the scoreboard, Warwick outgained CD East 277-118 and ran 43 offensive snaps compared to only 17 for the Panthers. Yet the score was only 21-14 at intermission. … Panthers RB Marcel McDaniels led all rushers with 74 yards on only 13 carries. … Penn State recruit Mehki Flowers, a transfer from Steel-High, finished with 112 all-purpose yards on only six touches and caught a TD pass. … Warwick WR Warren Fink led all receivers with 108 yards on only three catches and hauled in an 84-yard TD pass from QB Jack Reed. … Speaking of Reed, he finished with 261 yards through the air and a pair of touchdowns before leaving the game late in the fourth quarter.

WHAT WE SAW

It was a strange game, really. Warwick was in complete control everywhere except the scoreboard, and when Powell went down the Warriors looked very comfortable sitting on a one-touchdown lead. Their offense became very conservative and buttoned up after intermission.

Flowers is truly an impact player. More than 100 yards on six touches with a touchdown tells you that. But it was the timing of his big plays that was such a difference-maker. The Panthers’ winning score with 5:08 to play was only a 30-yard drive thanks to Flowers’ electric 39-yard punt return. He was also a monster in run support on defense from his safety spot.

CD East stared adversity right in the face when it lost its starting quarterback, down seven points and playing some pretty good football despite losing its opener. This Panthers squad didn’t blink.

THEY SAID IT

“I was in the game at receiver, so I was locked into the game. My name was called, and I was ready. I’m really speechless. After I threw the touchdown pass to Mehki I grew in confidence. I wasn’t cocky or anything, I just knew at that point it was all about finishing it.” — CD East junior quarterback Terrence Jackson-Copney

“We take pride in playing defense, and that’s our identity. It was about eliminating the big plays, which are going to happen. And we did that. This was a tug-of-war, neither team was giving an inch. We just made more plays in the fourth quarter. Terrence believes in himself, and we believed in him. The moment wasn’t too big for him. We found a way tonight.” — CD East coach Lance Deane

PANTHERS 28, WARRIORS 21

Warwick            0 21 0 0 – 21

CD East       7 7 0 14 – 28

First Quarter

CDE-Thaddeus Krebs 76 interception return (Nickolas Bloss kick), 6:22

Second Quarter

W-Ryan Fink 84 pass from Jack Reed (Gage Meckley kick), 11:18

W-Christian Royer 2 run (Meckley kick), 6:41

CDE-Tony Powell 49 run (Bloss kick), 1:02

W-Blake Minnich 29 pass from Reed (Meckley kick), :08

Third Quarter

None

Fourth Quarter

CDE-Mehki Flowers 5 pass from Terrence Jackson-Copley (Bloss kick), 8:47

CDE-Jackson-Copley 1 run (Bloss kick), 5:08

Team Statistics                     W       CDE

First downs                         16          12

Rushes-yards                    40-67  33-159

C-A-I                                         15-27-1  5-13-0

Passing yards                    283         121

Fumbles-lost                      1-0        2-1

Punts-avg.                               3-37.4      3-28.2

Penalties-yards                       6-40     7-57

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Warwick, Christian Royer 25-63; Jack Reed 9-4; Cooper Eckert 1-(minus-1); Andrew McClune 4-9; Trevor Evans 1-(minus-8). CD East, Marcel McDaniels 13-74; Aidan Chandler 3-(minus-2); Tony Powell 3-30; Mehki Flowers 1-16; Terrence Jackson-Copney 12-52; Team 1-(minus-11).

PASSING: Warwick, Reed 13-25-1-261; Evans 2-2-0-22. CD East, Powell 2-7-0-60; Jackson-Copney 3-6-0-61.

RECEIVING: Warwick, Ryan Fink 3-108; Blake Minnich 3-42; Eckert 5-43; Royer 1-21; Collin Shelly 2-42; Kyle Sapovchak 1-27. CD East, Tymere Thornton 2-77; Flowers 3-44.