There was excitement in the air as the Panther crowd anticipated its second straight victory in the young season against a Del Mar team that was winless in 2002 and in its first effort of the 2003 campaign. But it wasn't to be. The Dons pulled out a 24-6 victory.

It looked like the Panther faithful would get their wish as Prospect took the opening kickoff and methodically marched 82 yards down the field in eight plays. Running back Scott Skinner was key in the drive as he rushed for 34 yards on three carries and then completed the drive by catching a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Troy Varanchodom. The PAT kick failed and Prospect had a quick 6-0 lead.

The Panthers got another opportunity right away as Del Mar fumbled the snap on their first play from scrimmage and Panther linebacker Andrew Shouse recovered at the Dons' 36-yard line. However, due to a sack, a holding penalty, and an intentional grounding penalty, the Panther offense could not capitalize on the Del Mar miscue.

For the rest of the quarter the defenses of both teams prevailed and neither offense could get untracked.

The Dons finally got on the board as they opened the second quarter with quarterback John Daniels directing an 82-yard drive, culminating in a 32-yard field goal by Todd Woodward which cut the Panther lead in half.

The key play in the drive was a 30-yard pass from Daniels to tight end Billy Buxton, who made an acrobatic catch as he tipped the ball into the air between two defenders and then turned 180 degrees to grab the ball. Running back Emanuel Sellu was also instrumental in the drive with four carries for 19 yards. Sellu was the Dons' leading rusher on the night with 49 yards in 12 carries.

The Panthers looked like they were going to get their offense moving again until Dons' linebacker Matt Vasquez came up with a diving interception to give the Dons the ball with less than two minutes left in the half.

After Daniels was sacked by Panther Shane Hennessy for a 5-yard loss, the Dons struck quickly. Steve Bockus took a quick opener up the middle for 21 yards and Todd Meyers followed that with another burst up the middle for 11 yards. Daniels then dropped back, pump faked to the flat, and hit Jason Pollack for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 1:10 left in the half. The PAT attempt was blocked by a host of Panthers, and Del Mar had a 9-6 lead.

The Panthers offense continued to struggle and was forced to punt from its own end zone, and the Dons got one more chance with 14 seconds left in the half.

Daniels (4 of 8 for 105 yards in the game) made it count as he threw a pass into the end zone where two Panther defenders went up to knock it away but ended up knocking each other away as the ball fell into the waiting hands of wide receiver Hennessy for the touchdown with six seconds on the clock.

The PAT kick sailed wide right, but the Panthers were called for a roughing the kicker penalty and the Dons got a second chance. Vasquez ran for the 2-point conversion and the Dons went in at halftime up 17-6.

The second half was filled with both offenses sputtering as they attempted to get a sustained drive going with little success. The defenses dominated until late in the game when the Dons put together a short drive with Sellu charging in from the three for a touchdown with 2:18 left in the game. Woodward kicked the PAT and Del Mar was up 27-6.

The Panthers were not ready to check it in, though, and gave it one last shot as the clock wound down. Varanchodom cranked up the passing game again and took the Panthers down to the 1-yard line, but with no timeouts left the clock expired before they could get off another play and the game ended.

The drought was over for the Dons (1-1) as they celebrated their first win in two seasons, and coach Eric Buran is making good progress in rebuilding a program that has not had the success in the past few years that it traditionally has been accustomed to. They hope to see more success as they host Lincoln of San Jose on Sept. 27, 1:30 p.m.

Although their "under the lights" debut was not as they intended, the Panthers (1-2) had some flashes of what they hope to build upon for future success.

Varanchodom threw for 166 yards, spreading it among five receivers with wide receiver Kyilo Hulton leading the way with two catches for 50 yards. Skinner finished the day as the Panthers' leading rusher with 11 carries for 97 yards and the only touchdown.

The Panthers have a bye this week before they host Andrew Hill on Oct. 3.

Bruins are 3-0

Andre Ingram was an all-leaguer for the Branham Bruins a year ago. And as it turns out, the senior running back is picking up in 2003 where he left off a year ago.

Ingram raced for a pair touchdowns to lead the Bruins to an impressive 26-8 win over Santa Teresa in a non-league game last Friday afternoon. Cameron Pickering and Kenny Shearer also ran for Branham touchdowns.

Branham faces a bye this week before opening that Santa Teresa Division at home against Westmont on Oct. 4, 7 p.m.

Westmont falls

It's been a tough start for Westmont. The Warriors lost 26-21 to Fremont of Oakland to open the season, then dropped a tough 16-12 decision to Gunderson in a non-league game on Friday night.

Daniel Weller ran for two touchdowns, but the Warriors failed on both of their conversion attempts. The Grizzlies also scored two touchdowns, but added an extra point kick and a field goal which turned out to be the difference in the game.

The Warriors will try to get on the winning track this week when they visit Mt. Pleasant on Sept. 26, 7 p.m.