It was senior night and homecoming for the Butler County Magnet School Panthers, and the players responded with a big 62-28 win over Coffeeville.

Leading the charge for BCMS was senior Victor Marshall, whose final stat line looks like something out of a video game: 234 yards rushing on eight carries, five rushing touchdowns, and a 95-yard kick return for a touchdown.

“I’m really proud of all our seniors,” said head coach Shane Smothers. “We challenged them to come out and play in what could be their last home game, and I think that hit them hard.”

“Victor had a great performance for us tonight,” he added. “Our seniors also got some solid help from the team behind them.”

Marshall scored the first three touchdowns for the Panthers, running it in from 18, 60 and 58 yards to make it 18-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The lone score of the second quarter was a 13-yard pass from Luke Smothers to LaCory Savage.

“Our halftime was probably a little different than it usually is when you’re up 24-0,” Smothers said. “I was disappointed in our performance, and we were very fortunate to be up like that because of some big plays. We challenged them, and we came out with more intensity in the second half.”

The halftime speech must have worked because the Panthers matched their first-half output in the third quarter.

Marshall had runs of 81 and two yards, followed by a 22-yard run from Keon Binion and a 55-yard run from Rickey Everett.

With 9:34 to go in the game, Marshall added the 95-yard kick return to put the Panthers ahead 54-16, and De’Anthony Gandy put the final touchdown of the game up with a 35-yard run.

Overall, BCMS rushed for 460 yards on 38 carries, which gives the Panthers 583 yards of total offense when combined with the 123 yards through the air.

Besides Marshall’s 234 yards, Everett had 88 and Gandy added 65.

This win was a must-win game for the Panthers to keep postseason hope alive, and next week’s game against J.F. Shields will also be essential.

“We can’t overlook Shields,” Smothers said. “Right now, our goal is to keep getting better every day and take care of business against Shields.”