Washington Panthers coach Keith Mitchell couldn’t ask for a better debut as his Panthers picked up a 28-0 victory over the Belhaven Bulldogs in Community Youth Football League season opener on Saturday at Kugler Field in the 8U division.
“It was great to get an opening day win,” Mitchell said. “The kids were excited. That’s a big thing for us, we want them to have fun and keep them engaged. We’ve had 19 practices so we were glad to get on the field against somebody else.”
Panthers running back Jonathan Fields had a remarkable outing as he rushed for three touchdowns and recovered a fumble and dashed 85 yards down field for the team’s fourth and final score.
“Jonathan made a great pick up play on that fumble and ran it back,” Mitchell said. “He’s explosive and he showed a little bit more today than I anticipated him having. He’s a hardnosed kid and he goes after everything.”
The Belhaven Bulldogs showed heart in their opener, as they never gave up throughout the course of the game.
“We hustled. The hustle was there we just have to work on the fundamentals,” Bulldogs coach Isaiah McCullor said. “We have to work a little bit on our blocking and some of the simpler stuff.”
The Bulldogs played hard on defense as Jacquez Keech was able to intercept a pass in the second half.
“He did a good job of reading the quarterback’s eyes and he was able to get the ball,” McCullor said.
The Panthers took an 8-0 lead in the first when Fields scored on a 40-yard run and converted a two-point conversion on a Perry Fields run.
Fields scored again in the second on a 35-yard dash that was followed up by an Aven Harris two-point conversion to take a 16-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, Fields ripped off a 41-yard TD run in the third, before recovering a fumble and bringing it back for a score as the clock ran out in the fourth.

Bulldogs    0    0    0    0    —    0
Panthers    8    8    6    6    —    28

Scoring summary:
P — Jonathan Fields 40 run (Perry Fields two points), 1st.
P — Fields 35 run (Aven Harris two points), 7:52, 2nd.
P — Fields 41 run (two points failed), 2:50, 3rd.
P — Fields 85 fumble recovery, 0:00, 4th.