Panthers rally past Sanger 49-28 to finish district play unbeaten and take the title outright

Van Alstyne has the district championship to itself.

The Panthers beat Sanger 49-28 Thursday night at Panther Stadium, closing the regular season 9-1 and 5-0 in district play, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle. KTEN also reported the 49-28 final and the outright title.

It was not settled early. Van Alstyne led 21-7 early in the second quarter, but the Indians kept coming, cutting the margin to 28-21 at halftime and tying the game 28-28 early in the third, the Record-Chronicle reported. The Panthers then scored the final 21 points.

A Sanger win would have pulled the district into a three-way tie at the top, KXII had reported before the game. Instead, Van Alstyne stayed the only team in the district without a league loss.

The Panthers came into the night on short rest after a forfeit win over Gainesville, which did not have enough healthy players to play, according to KXII.

What comes next

Sanger, now 7-3 and 3-2, has already clinched a second straight playoff trip and was waiting on Friday's Krum-Ponder result for its seed, the Record-Chronicle reported. The Indians are likely the district's third seed but could drop to fourth if Ponder beats Krum by 16 points or more.

Van Alstyne's bi-district opponent, date and site had not been announced as of Friday morning.

Sources

Denton Record-Chronicle

KTEN

KXII