Friday the 13th was an unlucky night for the Rugby Panthers.

The Panthers had to play host to the Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich Cardinals, who were ranked number one in the state in a Class A 11-man football poll from the N.D. Associated Press Sportscasters & Sportswriters Association released two days prior.

And the Panthers fell 40-6 that night, putting their record at 2-2.

The Cardinals struck first after a stunted Panther opening drive. Cardinals quarterback Simon Romfo found wideout Jackson Delvo for the first score, and connected with him again for another on the team’s second possession.

The Panthers were forced to punt away two drives. The Cardinals would have the ball for the final two minutes of the first quarter with 16 points on the board.

A series of incomplete passes and an offensive holding penalty in the second quarter pushed the Cardinals back closer to midfield, and the next play forced the Cardinals to punt.

The Panthers’ ensuing drive would be stilted, and that time by a Cardinal pick six.

The Cardinals would add to their already wide lead with a Romfo-Noah Anderson connection. However, the Panther defense blocked the point-after try. The score at halftime would be 28-0 in the Cardinals’ favor. The Cardinals would add two more scores in the second half.

With 4:36 left to play, the Panther defense would get a gift: a fumble deep inside Cardinal territory that they recovered.

A series of short runs from freshman running backs Macen Heisler and Logan Gronvold put the Panthers in the red zone. Freshman quarterback Brody Schneibel would keep it and put six points on the board for Rugby with 1:26 left to play. However the two-point try failed.

The Panthers traveled to Grafton last night in a region matchup against the Spoilers. The Panthers will cap off Homecoming Week next week with a game against the Park River Area Aggies.

– Tribune Staff Report