Cats prowl, birds fly-but if lightning shows up in the area, there will be a safety delay.

Starting two hours late at Durand last Friday, the Stanley-Boyd Orioles faced off against the Durand-Arkansaw Panthers, coming away with a 1-2 game record after the clock ran down. The final score Friday was 20 – 3 in the Panther’s favor.

Starting out at nine p.m. after the rains had left, the game played in a somewhat humid atmosphere started with kickoff return by Durand, Henry Hoel making the first tackle for Stanley-Boyd. With Ryan Mason taking the ball upfield for Durand, before long it was turn over time, with Jake LaGrander receiving the punt to secure Oriole possession. The ten senior strong Durand-Arkansaw team took first touchdown with 6:33 left in the second quarter following another turnover, but not before Storm Tiry made a diving tackle in the first to close out the first 0-0. The Orioles Chase Sturm made an interception on a pass intended for the Panthers, while Oriole senior Simon Polman made a 28-yard field goal to put the score 6-3 at the half—and that’s about where it stayed in terms of the Orioles scoring for the night. When the game ended the final score saw 20-3 in the Panther’s favor, with head coach Jeff Koenig sharing his pride at how the boys competed.

“The lightning delay was frustrating but it impacted both teams,” he said. “Our defense played well but our offense couldn’t find a rhythm. I’m proud of how hard the boys competed until the very end.”

With the Durand-Arkansaw game behind them, the Orioles play next against Fall Creek this Friday at Oriole Park. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Chase Sturm looks to hand the ball to the referree following an interception he made against Durand Friday. Photo by Joseph Back.