After a blazing start to the season, the Butler County Magnet School Panthers stumbled again last night with a 26-7 loss to McIntosh.

“They just took it to us and whipped us up front,” said head coach Shane Smothers.

On the first play from scrimmage, the Panthers broke a 65-yard run, but it was called back for a block in the back.

“We just couldn’t get anything going consistently offensively,” Smothers said.

Down 12-0 with just over two minutes left in the first half, Rickey Everett tossed a pass to Devante Hamilton, who broke two tackles and took it for a touchdown. The Demons broke a 50-yard pass on the ensuing possession and scored with less than 10 seconds to go in the half on fourth down and one to make the margin 19-7 at halftime.

“We just didn’t play with intensity, and I thought we would after last week’s loss,” Smothers said. “We haven’t really improved, and this is when we need it the most.”