The Knoxville Football Squad got in too deep of a hole to dig out of and fell to Newton on Friday night 39-17 in a game heard live on 95.3 KNIA. The Panthers found themselves down 24-0 before they hit the end zone on a Andon Trout one yard run in the 2nd quarter. It seemed like Knoxville had taken momentum into the locker room but the Cardinals got a 30 yard touchdown pass with :01 remaining in the first half to steal momentum back. Neither team scored in the 3rd quarter but Knoxville outscored the Cardinals 10-7 in the 4th on a Braden Dudley 21 yard gallop and Luka DeJong nailed a 40 yard field goal to cap the scoring. Panthers Coach Matt Dunkin, while not happy with the loss, was pleased with how his guys stayed the course and kept fighting to the end.

Dunkin: “Taking some of those shots early and getting down. The guys did a really good job of trying to figure out what to do and did a really nice job of persevering early.”

The Panthers were limited to just 178 total yards to Newton’s 417. Knoxville was led by Trout on the ground with 26 yards on ten carries. Noah Keefer 7/12 for 77 yards. Knoxville is 0-1 and will host Oskaloosa on Friday for the season’s home opener in Ken Locke Stadium.