On Friday, Sept. 19, the Seminole Chieftains travelled to Harrah for their first road test of the 2025 season. A seven-touchdown performance by QB Donavin Garfield helped Seminole overcome a slow start and walk out with a 46-34 win over the Panthers. With the victory, the Chieftains enter district play with a 3-0 record for the second straight season.

In front of their home crowd, it was Harrah who came out hot to start this one. Two quick scores by the Panthers saw the Chieftains down 14-0 just eight minutes into the ballgame. Seminole would respond thanks to big catches by wide receivers Mason Bennett and Jay Ladd, setting up QB Donavin Garfield’s first touchdown of the game. The score cut the lead to 14-6 at the end of quarter number one.

After the slow defensive start, the Chieftains started to shut down the Panthers, forcing punts on all four of Harrah’s second-quarter drives. However, Seminole was only able to capitalize once, tying the game at 14-14 heading into the intermission.

The beginning of the second half saw both teams strike within the first three minutes. Unlike Seminole, Harrah had a successful PAT, giving the Panthers a 21-20 lead. However, that is the last time the Chieftains would trail for the rest of the night. Quarterback Donavin Garfield would run in his fourth score just minutes later, regaining a 26-21 lead for his squad. A Panther punt on their next possession allowed Seminole to be knocking on the door of another score as the third quarter came to a close.

The Chieftains would do just that, taking a 34-21 lead on the first play of the final period thanks to QB Donavin Garfield’s 5th touchdown of the contest. Garfield would then end the scoring threat posed by the Panthers with an interception on the next possession. His 6th rushing touchdown of the game came just three minutes later and gave the Chieftains their biggest lead of the game, 40-21.

Harrah would do their best to mount a comeback (mostly after Seminole’s defensive starters had been pulled), but the Chieftains held strong. Garfield’s 7th rushing touchdown of the game with four minutes to go capped off the 46-34 win over the Panthers.

Here is what Head Coach Mike Snyder had to say about his team’s resilience and his quarterback, “I thought we showed a lot of character. We got down 14 to nothing and came back. You know, we kept giving them room to score. I thought Donavin Garfield pretty much proved how much of a stud he was tonight.”

The Chieftain quarterback finished 17-21 passing for 280 yards, while rushing the ball 19 times for 143 yards and all seven of his team’s touchdowns. He generated 423 of Seminole’s 450 total yards; the Panthers simply had no answer for him. Garfield’s top receiving targets throughout the game were #3 Mason Bennett (6 catches for 102 yards), #6 Jay Ladd (3 catches for 79 yards), and #8 Austin Smith (4 catches for 69 yards). Austin Smith, alongside LB Reed Bowers, was pouncing all over the Panthers, each totaling 12 tackles. As a whole, the defensive unit held Harrah to just 7-20 passing for 68 yards and forced six Panther punts. The Chieftains will be back at home Friday, Sept. 26, for their homecoming football game and festivities. Seminole will look to get its first homecoming game win since 2021 when the Lone Grove Longhorn come to town. Game time is set for 7:30 PM.