By Scott Hansen
210 Preps

O’Connor’s patience has been rewarded against another Top 10 opponent in the San Antonio area for the second straight week as the Panthers have come back from double digits deficits in the first half. On Saturday night in the 210 Preps/OK3 Sports Game of the Week, O’Connor stormed back from down 24-14 at halftime to earn a 38-24 victory over Johnson.

In the second half, it was all second-ranked O’Connor thanks to signal caller Roel Sanchez.

Sanchez hit Jalen Hughes on a 78-yard touchdown pass to give O’Connor a 31-24 lead with 5:14 left in the third quarter, a lead that it would never relinquish. Earlier, the two hooked up on a 15-yard touchdown pass to pull O’Connor to within three at 24-21.

Hughes finished with 131 receiving yards and two touchdowns and also would tack on a 9-yard touchdown run with under a minute left to seal the victory for the Panthers.

Johnson scored on all four possessions in the first half to take a 24-14 lead. The future is bright at quarterback for the Jaguars as sophomore Mike Chandler. After Alex Rodriguez kicked off the scoring with a 30-yard touchdown run up the gut, Chandler hit Brandon McDuffie on a 20-yard touchdown pass to give the Jaguars an early 14-0 lead.

Later on, Chandler found tight end Jakob Teplitz on a 44-yard touchdown pass with 7:27 remaining in the first half to claim a 21-7 lead. It appeared Johnson was rolling to a mild upset win.

O’Connor’s Trey Patterson scored on a 27-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to pull the Panthers to within 21-14 before Johnson booted a field goal before halftime. Patterson would lead the Panthers with 135 yards rushing in the victory.

The Panthers set the tone in the second defensively, holding Johnson to one first down and zero total yards.

Johnson falls to 2-2 on the season and will face Roosevelt (2-2) to open district play in Week 5. As for O’Connor, safety Millard Bradford did not play due to being “banged up,” according to the Express-News via Twitter. On Friday, the unbeaten Panthers will face Taft at Farris Stadium.

O’Connor 38, Johnson 24

First quarter

JOH — Alex Rodriguez 33 run (Brody Patty kick), 8:32

JOH — Brandon McDuffie 20 pass from Mike Chandler (Brody Patty kick), 3:40

Second quarter

OCO — Dylan Murray 2 run (Michael Lyssy kick), 11:04

JOH — Jakob Teplitz 44 pass from Mike Chandler (Brody Patty kick), 7:27

OCO — Treyshaen Patterson 27 run (Michael Lyssy kick), 3:19

JOH — Brody Patty 27 field goal, 22

Third quarter

OCO — Jalen Hughes 15 pass from Roel Sanchez (Michael Lyssy kick), 4:32

OCO — Michael Lyssy 43 field goal, 1:14

Fourth quarter

OCO — Jalen Hughes 78 pass from Roel Sanchez (Michael Lyssy kick), 6:42

OCO — Jalen Hughes 9 run (Michael Lyssy kick),:46

Original article posted here.