Knightstown traveled to Hagerstown on Friday, Aug. 22, for the football opener for both schools.
The Panthers, a veteran team with 13 seniors, including a stable of sure-handed receivers and a 6-foot-5-inch gunslinger at quarterback to throw to them, were a heavy favorite over the young Tigers.
The young Tigers gave the Panthers all they wanted, leading most of the game, before finally losing in a shootout that came down to after-touchdown kick points.
The Panthers had the ball to open the game, but they did not have it for long. The Tigers forced a fumble on the second play from scrimmage, and three plays later Graham Vinson ran two yards for a touchdown. The snap for the PAT was high. The Tigers led 6-0.
Five minutes later, Vinson was back in the end zone on a 15-yard run. Vinson followed with a pass for a 2-point conversion to Ben Hokey to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead at the 5:46 mark.
The Panthers answered at 3:02 with a 9-yard TD run from Jameson Crawford and a PAT kick from Grace Behny to trim the Panther deficit to 14-7.
The two teams traded points in the second quarter.
The Tigers scored first at 9:01 on a 4-yard TD pass from Vinson to Isaac Schmitz, followed by a PAT from Cale Schmitz.
The Panthers answered with a 29-yard TD pass from Bryor Carmichael to Brody Willard, followed by a PAT at 3:28.
One minute later, Vinson connected with Nick Tinkle for a 37-yard TD pass, but another bad snap kept the Tigers from a PAT attempt.
With 1:14 remaining in the first half, Carmichael threw a 57-yard TD pass to Crawford, and Behny added the PAT to make the halftime lead 27-21 in favor of Hagerstown.
The teams played even in the third period. Carmichael tied the game at 27-27 at the 6:33 mark with a 79-yard TD pass to Crawford, but the PAT was blocked. The Tigers retook the lead with 3:43 remaining in the third period on a 15-yard QB keeper.
The Panthers used the long ball to tie the game two minutes into the fourth quarter. Carmichael tossed a 70-yard TD pass to Gage Brody and Behny added the PAT to give the Panthers the lead for good.
Carmichael completed 14 of 29 passes for 380 yards and four touchdowns. Crawford was his favorite target. Crawford caught four passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 95 yards and another touchdown.
Vinson completed 19 of 34 passing attempts for 178 yards and two TDs, and rushed for 49 yards and a score. Freshman Lincoln Small gained 86 yards in 20 carries in his varsity debut. Keith Lumpkin had seven tackles for the Tigers, and Isaac Schmitz had six. Kaden Hall had a sack.
Hagerstown head coach Scott Snodgrass said he could not fault his team. “We are a team of 14, 15 and 16-year-olds playing a team with 13 seniors that physically beat the snot out of us last year,” Snodgrass said. “Our kids have made massive improvements in a short amount of time. We will make mistakes, but we will learn from them and fix them. I cannot fault our effort.”
The Tigers will stay home next Friday, Aug. 29, when they host Centerville.
Knightstown (1-0, 1-0 TEC) 7 14 6 7 34
Hagerstown (0-1, 0-1 TEC) 14 13 6 0 33
A version of this article appeared in the August 27 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.