Panthers line up after victory over Brockton
Photographed by Tashi Rauf
On Friday September 18th, 2026, the Franklin Panthers took on the Brockton Boxers in a fierce game. The home game was louder than ever, with the majority of our fans supporting kids who have cancer and all wearing yellow to show their support. The first touchdown was scored at 10 minutes into the game by the home team. Just 4 minutes later, the last line of defense failed for the Brockton Boxers, and that was the gateway for the Panthers to score their second kick and touchdown. The Panthers dominated Quarter 1 by a score of 14-0. In quarter two, the Brockton Boxers made a turn of events by scoring a touchdown and a kick without hesitation around 8 minutes into the game. The duration of quarter 2 seemed to be going slowly for both sides. While there were many close calls, most of them never succeeded in scoring a touchdown. The hype seemed to die down from both sides, as you can hear the crowd sitting on the edge, waiting for anything to actually happen. The halftime show is sponsored by The Brockton Boxers Symphonic Band and their performing arts team.
Quarter 3 acts just like quarter two. The Panthers possessed the ball, but the duration of the game was mostly just close calls from the Brockton Boxers, foreshadowing a turn of events for quarter 4. Quarter 4 kicks off again with the Panthers, but a sudden turn of events let the Brockton Boilers score their second touchdown of the game. The score just changes to 24-14, and the game is nearly neck and neck. During this tense quarter, we can see that the teams are pushing their hardest in order to try to win the game. The supporters are roaring louder, and teams are pushing to the best of their capabilities. The Panthers scored their last touchdown with 37 seconds left in the game. All hope seemed to be lost as the other team seemed to know they couldn't catch up. Due to the score, the Panthers won the game and brought home a victory in their first game. A star player, Iyad Fraifer, was interviewed later, and he said that the team will have to work harder and keep the same level of dedication in practice. A player from the opposing team was interviewed shortly after to get their perspective of the game. Yarborough,#6 on the Brockton Boxers, said that he didn't feel that the team was on their A-game. When asked if they were on their A-game, would they have beaten the Panthers, the player was confident that they had a decent shot at winning. Overall, a pretty intense game for both teams, but the Panthers were happy to have won the game 31-14. A special shout-out goes to the kids all around the world who are battling cancer, and a special thanks to Connect 4 Cancer for helping our team support kids who have cancer by spreading awareness.
Brockton's Symphonic Band playing at half-time
Photographed by Tashi Rauf