After 48 minutes of action, the scoreboard read Eastside Catholic 46 Seattle Prep 7, but if not for some miscues, it would have been much closer.

Penalties, some of them inexplicable, hurt the Panthers’ chances all day. A Jack Heflin pick six was nullified by a penalty on the return, which gave the ball back to the Crusaders, who promptly scored on the ensuing play.

Several Panther drives were ended by penalties on third down, leading to Ben Capeloto to trot out several times to punt. Josh Flor had another outstanding game at wide receiver, and has put together a string of great performances for the Panthers.

Some underclassmen got some playing time towards the end of the game, and the assembled faithful got a glimpse of the bright future of Prep football.

This week is Prep’s first home game at West Seattle Stadium, and more importantly, Seattle Prep’s homecoming game against O’Dea. The players are confident that they’ll be able to put on a show for the returning alumni.

Prep’s record is now 2-2, with wins over Redmond and Belmont (BC), and two losses to Eastside Catholic and Kennedy.