LONGVIEW — Coming off a district-opening loss to state-ranked Kilgore last Friday, the Spring Hill Panthers pulled off a 10-6 upset against the Gladewater Panthers on Friday night at Panther Stadium.

Senior Ben Hollas led the charge for the Panthers (3-3, 1-1 in District 16-3A), carrying the ball 22 times for 79 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown.

“We decided to come out and have a good time,” Hollas said. “It’s district and everyone expects us to lose, so we kept that in mind. We had no pressure going into the game. We are going to just take it day by day, continue to prepare for each game and just have fun.”

With 10:55 left in the game, Gladewater sought to take the lead after recovering a Spring Hill fumble on the Panthers’ 4-yard line. Bears quarterback Derrick Daniels then looked to hit Nick Johnson in the end zone, but Jake Ferrill came up with the interception that ultimately secured the win for Spring Hill.

Spring Hill came out swinging in the third quarter after Hollas recovered a Bears fumble on the opening drive of the second half. Hollas then punched it in the end zone for the Panthers touchdown and a 10-6 advantage.

“We had a great week of work and the kids responded,” Spring Hill coach Bobby Chadwick said. “These kids are unbelievable and they play so hard and get after it. I’m so proud of them I can hardly stand it. Right now, we’re going to enjoy this win and take it one week at a time. Chapel Hill is a good, solid team. If we can eliminate the mistakes we should be fine.”

Interceptions were thrown in each teams’ first series of the game. With 5:25 left in the first quarter, the Panthers worked their way into Bears (3-3, 0-2) territory, setting them up to strike first with a field goal by Chris Flournoy.

A 59-yard run by Daniels placed the Bears with a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line. Daniels then connected with Tyler Price in the end zone, giving Gladewater a 6-3 lead with 3:47 remaining in the first quarter.

Daniels finished the night with 24 carries for 126 yards, while Price racked up 38 yards on 11 carries and scored the lone touchdown for the Bears.

Gladewater plays host to Bullard next week, while Spring Hill travels to Chapel Hill.

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