Keller Fossil Ridge Panthers fall to Flower Mound in close game to open 2023 season

FLOWER MOUND -- Twice Keller Fossil Ridge rallied from 14-point deficits -- once in each half -- to tie the score, but it was not enough as the Panthers fell 38-31 to the Flower Mound Jaguars in a 6A non-district matchup at Neal E. Wilson Stadium.

Running back Cameron Moran’s eight-yard TD run with 7:08 left in the fourth quarter tied the game at 28-28 for Fossil Ridge.

Flower Mound answered on the ensuing drive, marching 83 yards with Jake Watson delivering a 17-yard TD strike to Jason Welch with 4:07 left.

Fossil Ridge could not convert a fourth-and-five at its own 35 with 2:05 remaining. The Panther defense stiffened, but the Jaguars Miguel Arenas drilled a 47-yard field goal with 40 seconds left that left a 10-point deficit.

On the next possession, Moran raced 66-yards off a screen pass from Logan Cundiff to the Flower Mound five yard line, and with just seven seconds left in the game, Panther Head Coach Derek Ramsey opted to kick a 22-yard field goal immediately, and then have an onside kick with one last ditch to tie. Breck Moore converted the 22-yarder; however, it was just two seconds remaining, and Flower Mound recovered the onside kick.

“We decided to go for the field goal, and then recover an onside kick and have one last shot at a hail mary to the end zone,” said Ramsey. “Some times it comes down to one play.”

Fossil Ridge defensive back Kingdom Tatum made a diving interception on the second play of the third period to give the Panthers a first down at the Jaguars 24. Moran scooped up a bobbled snap to Cundiff, and raced eight yards for the tying score at 14-14.

Flower Mound answered on the ensuing drive with Welch hauling in a five-yard Watson TD aerial.

After a Panthers punt on the next possession, Watson culminated an 80-yard drive -- aided by three pass interference penalties -- with a two-yard TD run that left Fossil Ridge with a 28-14 deficit.

Again, the Panthers rallied. Cooper Leonard grabbed a 58-yard scoring strike from Cundiff with 1:34 left in the third quarter. After a three-and-out by the Panther defense, Cundiff led a 63-yard drive that took 5:46 off the clock that culminated with Moran’s game-tying TD run with 7:08 left in the contest.

That set the stage for a frantic finish that left Fossil Ridge out of time to mount a third rally.

Flower Mound bolted to a quick 14-0 lead on a pair of first-quarter TD passes from Watson to junior wideout Cameron Bouck covering six and three-yards. The latter TD was setup by a 40-yard Watson completion to Welch on fourth-and-seven from the Panthers 43 yard line.

Fossil Ridge dented the scoreboard keyed by a defensive stand midway in the second period. Pinning Flower Mound at its own three-yard line, the Panthers, after a 30-yard Jaguars punt, then drove 33 yards on seven plays -- all on the ground -- with Cundiff burrowing in for a one-yard TD, narrowing the gap to 14-7, which stood heading into intermission.

Cundiff, who recently received a Division I offer from Austin Peay, passed for a game-high 261 yards on 16 completions in 23 attempts, and added 40 rushing yards on 12 carries.

Moran had game-leading totals in rushing yards (74 on 17 carries) and receiving yards (129 grabs on three catches).

“I am so very proud of this team the way we fought back twice,” said Coach Ramsey. “Our kids could easily have folded but we hung in there and kept coming back.”

“We can build off this,” added Ramsey. “We gotta clean up some mistakes, but we did a lot of good things as well. And coming back, fighting hard, shows a lot of heart from our kids.”

Watson accounted for all five Flower Mound TDs (four passing and one rushing), finishing with 221 aerial yards on 22 completions, while leading his team in rushing yards with 67 on 10 attempts.

Fossil Ridge posted a 37-21 season-opening win at home a year ago versus Flower Mound as Cundiff ran for a pair of TDs and passed for another.

Seeking its first playoff appearance since 2018, Keller Fossil Ridge fell just short a year ago when a three-way tiebreaker denied the Panthers the final playoff berth.

The Panthers play their home-opener next Thursday night versus Little Elm Braswell, at Keller ISD Athletic Complex.