RALEIGH — Panther Creek forced four turnovers and scored four touchdowns Friday night, but it wasn’t enough to beat Leesville Road at its place. The Pride found the end zone five times and came away with the 35-28 victory, thwarting the Catamounts’ bid at a season-opening upset.

“It simply boiled down to execution,” Panther Creek coach Wayne Bragg said. “It’s really about making plays and not making plays, and we didn’t make enough plays to win.”

A season ago the Catamounts managed just three wins, but entered this season with hopes of turning things around. And for Bragg — even with the loss — this was a good sign his team has made strides in the right direction.

“We came in here and played right with one of the better teams in this area,” Bragg said. “We went toe-to-toe with them. Obviously, a loss is not what you want, but we lost because of things we did. It wasn’t what they did, it was what we did. And those things you can correct.”

The Catamounts led 21-7 at the half and were on the doorstep of pushing their lead to 21 after an early-third quarter-Leesville Road turnover, but junior quarterback Kameron Bryant’s pass to the back-left corner of the end zone was picked off by Pride senior cornerback Thurston Cox. Cox then promptly hauled in a 60-yard touchdown pass to pull Leesville to within seven.

The Pride tied the game on their next possession, but Panther Creek (0-1) steadied its offense and regained the lead at 28-21 on a Bryant to Kel Jackson touchdown pass and catch with 3:24 left in the third quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Leesville (1-0) fumbled the ball right back to the Catamounts, who eventually faced fourth-and-inches inside the Pride 10-yard line.

Bragg opted for a field-goal try instead of going for the first down, but the safe play didn’t work out. Senior kicker Walker Cruikshank, who was perfect on extra points all night, hooked the ball wide of the left upright, giving the ball back to Leesville on its own 20-yard line.

Bragg didn’t regret his decision after the game.

“Early in the game we went for it and barely got it. So that worried me a little bit,” he said. “Plus, we were up 28-21 and it was late in the third quarter. I thought if we could get three more we would be in pretty good shape. I think the snap was a little high, but I don’t know. The fact is we missed it.”

The Pride quickly took advantage, tying the game just three plays later. Then, with 2:54 remaining in the game, Leesville took its first lead on a one-yard touchdown plunge by senior running back Dylan Edwards.

Panther Creek’s last chance ended on Bryant’s third interception of the game deep in Pride territory.

“I give credit to Leesville Road,” Bryant said. “They played well. I put this game on my shoulders. I’m the quarterback, and the quarterback gets the blame when a team loses. But even though we lost we feel like we can play with anyone. We felt we could play with anyone before the season. We wanted to come in here and make a statement. I think we did that. We lost, but we showed everyone in this county what we can do.”

The Catamounts open up their home schedule on Friday when they host Jordan.