There were plenty of firsts for flag football at Gananda in 2024.
But that’s going to happen during an inaugural season. And while the Blue Panthers advanced to the Section V Class B2 championship, their first title will have to wait for at least another year.
The effort was valiant and the margin was close, but Gananda fell short of a Section V title with a 20-13 loss to Bishop Kearney in Tuesday’s championship played at Monroe Community College.
It’s not what Gananda wanted, but it was far better than the 44-19 loss to Bishop Kearney during the regular season.
The Blue Panthers took a 7-0 lead in the first half when Avery Hoffmann caught a scoring pass from Ella Lathrop. Bishop Kearney responded with two touchdowns in the final 7:29 of the first half for a 14-7 halftime lead.
Lathrop’s touchdown run with 15:43 left in the game pulled Gananda to within 14-13 after the conversion was stopped short. And even when Bishop Kearney took a 20-13 lead with 14.5 seconds left, there was hope for Gananda.
The Blue Panthers advanced to midfield and completed a pass on what would be the final play. The pass was complete but the Blue Panthers needed a touchdown and were stopped short.
Gananda ends its season with a 9-3 record and plenty of pride for a first-year program.
“Overall the season was a success,” coach Emily Slentz said. “There are lots of other athletes out there watching us as a pilot program. We told our girls that if you do good things, good things will happen so hopefully, these girls are inspiring younger players to start playing.”