After a dominating 80-54 win over Pilot Grove in the Class 1, District 9 semifinals, the Panthers were confident heading into Saturday's championship final against Tuscumbia. The powerful Lions, however, pulled away for a 56-40 win.
Prairie Home, which began the season 7-7 under first-year head coach Dalton Armontrout, won 10 of its final 12 games to finish 17-9 overall. The Panthers were 3-1 in the Cooper County Activities Association, good for second place behind Pilot Grove.
Prairie Home will graduate seniors Blake Huggins, Rayce Kendrick, Klay Holliday, Sam Distler and Kody Simmons.
"We can build on this going into next year," Armontrout said. "With our seniors, I couldn't have asked for a better group. They came in from Day 1 and worked hard. The results were very, very good. I was proud of them."
Although the Panthers were hoping to win districts, it was still a memorable experience.
"It was the first time in 46 years the boys at Prairie Home went to a district final," Armontrout said. "I just wish for a better outcome."
The Panthers kept it close in the first half, trailing 24-21 at the intermission. The Lions, though, began to take control in the third quarter, outscoring Prairie Home 11-5 to open a 35-26 advantage.
Tuscumbia began the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run to extend the lead to 45-26. The Panthers tried to rally, putting together a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 46-33, but the Lions answered with the next four points to regain control.
"We scored six points in the first quarter and five in the third," Armontrout said. "With those numbers, you're not going to win many ball games. We were timid on offense. We got scared that we might miss a layup and settled for jump shots. We had some little runs and they would answer back.
"Coming off that Pilot Grove win, we had all the confidence in the world. We just couldn't get a rhythm going."
Simmons finished with 14 points, while sophomore Ross Kendrick scored eight. Simmons and Rayce Kendrick were named to the All-District team.