It took less than 5 minutes for the Little Miami Panthers to get the taste of last weeks loss to Anderson out of their mouth. The Panthers got back into the win column with a 42-7 victory over the Walnut Hills Eagles on Friday night. After Jaxon Barnett returned the opening kickoff to midfield, it took only a few plays for the Panthers to punch it in for six. Junior running back Logan Kerner scored to give Little Miami the 7-0 lead.

Walnut Hills was unable to get anything going as the Little Miami defense stood strong and forced a punt. Panthers quarterback, Brayden Brown found Owen Hoch running wide open in the endzone for a 24-yard touchdown to extend the Little Miami lead to 14-0.

The Panthers defense once again forced another punt and Barnett made the Eagles pay. Barnett took the punt to the house, for a 51-yard touchdown return, giving Little Miami a 21-0 lead. The lead would hold until the second quarter when the Panthers struck again. Brown found Hoch again for another score. Hoch did all of the work, making defenders miss and punching it in from 20 yards out and extending the lead to 28-0.

Jaxon Barnett struck again, this time picking off Eagles quarterback Joshua Thornton and giving the Panthers a chance to add more points. Little Miami drove down the field and capitalized on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brown to senior wide receiver Carter Stewart.

The touchdown gave Little Miami a 35-0 lead with just over five minutes left in the half. Walnut Hills drove the ball down the field to try and add some points before the half. The Panthers defense stood tall, forcing a turnover on downs, as senior linebacker Carter Hainey sacked Thornton to give Little Miami the ball.

The Eagles defense was not to be denied. On the very next play, Colin Ross tipped and picked off the Brown pass, giving the Eagles the ball back with less than a minute remaining in the half.

Walnut Hills was unable to score and the half finished with the Panthers up 35. The running clock rule was in place in the second half. The running clock didn’t stop Little Miami from scoring. After the defense forced another Walnut Hills punt, Gage Vultaggio took the ensuing punt to the house.

A flag was on the field for a holding call and the touchdown was taken off the board. Vultaggio’s effort was still recognized. Little Miami did score on the drive as running back Walker Brewsaugh punched it in from 10 yards out. That would be the final points Little Miami would score. Walnut Hills was not to be denied points. The running clock made the second half fly by but the Eagles put together a solid drive in the fourth quarter. Joshua Thornton ran one in from 2 yards out, giving the Eagles something to build off moving into next week.

The victory moved the Panthers to 3-1 on the season and 2-1 in the ECC. The win also marked the 70th career victory as head coach at Little Miami for Nate Mahon, who is in his second go around with the Panthers. Next up for Little Miami is a key conference matchup on the road at Lebanon.

Chris Asbrock is the owner, writer and analyst for Impact Sports Cincinnati and can be followed on Twitter  Follow @iamchrisasbrock and Follow @ISCincy