Prairie City head coach Nick Thompson, sophomore Lane Clark and sophomore Tucker Wright celebrate after the Panthers' 24-6 homecoming win over Pine Eagle on Friday, Oct. 8.

The Panthers’ 24-6 win over Pine Eagle on homecoming night was as much a victory for the community of Prairie City as it was for the football team.

According to Nick Thompson, the Panthers’ head coach, the last time Pine Eagle played in Prairie City was in 2017, and the Spartans shut out the Panthers 102-0 in a game that saw, according to then-head coach Nate Barber, the Panthers lose a starting player to injury on the first play.

“There’s a lot of people here who remember that game,” Thompson said. “This was a community win, and it was good to see everybody out here and we feel the support.”

The Panthers were the first team to score on a rushing touchdown by junior Cole Teel well into the first quarter, the first of his two touchdowns.

Later, quarterback Wes Voigt connected with senior receiver John Titus for a touchdown, and Tucker Wright put the game out of reach for the Spartans with a fourth-quarter touchdown.

Prairie City’s defense stopped Pine Eagle on four sacks by sophomore Trey Brown.

After the game, Brown said the team’s strategy coming into the game was to play the Panthers’ brand of football, which he called “nice and physical.”