Instead of talking the talk, they’re walking the walk.
Prior to their first road game of the young football season last Friday night, the Great Bend High School Panthers were searching for an identity, searching to find themselves, searching to break out of the doldrums of mediocrity.
Out west, at Class 6A Garden City, the Panthers found out a lot about themselves during a 28-25 triumph to open the Western Athletic Conference ledger.
The Panthers take a 2-1 record to Wichita North (0-3) for non-conference action on Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7.
“We took a big step forward,” Great Bend head coach Bo Black said. “More than anything, I think our kids quit talking about giving a great effort and gave a great effort.
“They quit talking about how we want to execute and they executed. They quit talking about playing with enthusiasm and played with enthusiasm.”
Case in point: The Panthers’ mindset is predicated on effort, execution and enthusiasm.
“We’ve tried to base our program on those three things for a long time and (last) Friday night, we put some of things together,” Black said. “They played hard and played with a lot of heart, and when you do that, you have a great chance to be successful.”
In a dizzying back-and-forth game, the outcome wasn’t determined until the game’s final play, where Garden City quarterback Greyson Tempel threw to the end zone from the GBHS 31-yard line and had several awaiting players from both teams in a jump ball. Buffaloes wide receiver Caleb Tramp had his potential game-winning catch swiped from his grasp as Panthers defensive back Ty Yager batted away the aerial, setting off a wild celebration by the Panthers on the field.