Palmetto takes care of Ferguson in 28-15 victory, now shifts its focus to playoffs

A week after clinching its first postseason berth since 2008, Palmetto overcame a slow start to beat Ferguson 28-15 on Thursday afternoon at Tropical Park.

Quarterback Hugh Lowson threw three touchdown passes, including an early 76-yarder to De’Andre Thompson that tied the score at 7.

Lowson ran for a touchdown later in the quarter to put Palmetto (8-1) ahead for good.

Ferguson, which finished a much more competitive season with a 3-6 record a year after going winless, had two first-half interceptions by Ivan Ramirez and took an early 7-0 lead on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Mike Lopez to Christian Cabral.

The Panthers scored 28 unanswered points following that score.

Palmetto will play at Belen Jesuit next Friday at 3 p.m. in a Region 4-8A quarterfinal.

“We had a huge, crazy game against Killian last week [to clinch a playoff spot] and that made this a tough week,” Palmetto coach Mike Manasco said. “And Ferguson didn’t make it easy on us either. They’re well coached and have some tough kids.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 7:35 PM with the headline "Palmetto takes care of Ferguson in 28-15 victory, now shifts its focus to playoffs."