Panthers Win 2nd Home Game Of The Season, But Charlotte 49ers Fall To Georgia State

The Carolina Panthers started their season with two wins in a row, trouncing the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Can they keep the momentum? Langston Wertz Jr. with The Charlotte Observer joins WFAE “All Things Considered” host Gwendolyn Glenn with more on the Panthers’ win — and a Charlotte 49ers’ loss — on this week’s installment of Time Out for Sports.

The final score at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on Sunday was Carolina 26, New Orleans 7. It was a good game for Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold, who went 26 for 38 in passing for 305 yards and two touchdowns.

“(Darnold) passed for more yards and touchdowns in a half than he did in any game for the Jets last season,” Wertz told Glenn.

The Panthers managed to take down New Orleans quarterback Jameis Winston at one point and they held the Saints’ offense to under 200 yards. But it wasn’t all good for Carolina, especially for kicker Zane Gonzales, who was added to the roster after Ryan Santoso was released last week.

“We’re having the same problems,” Wertz said. “We can’t make point after touchdowns and worse, they can’t kick the ball out of the end zone.”

Brooklyn Harper of Chapel Hill plays three positions on her high school football team. “Brooklyn grew up playing football since she was in the third grade,” Wertz said.

On the college level, meanwhile, UNC Charlotte lost 20-9 to Georgia State.

“It wasn’t a good loss,” Wertz said. “They had beaten Duke and coming off a blowout of Gardner-Webb, you almost thought Charlotte’s time is now and they go lay an egg.”

Listen to Glenn and Wertz’s full conversation for more. And here’s a quick look at two other big things we covered on Time Out For Sports this week.

• Two Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school football teams, Chambers and Hough, both in the top 100 nationally, will play at Memorial Stadium this weekend. “This is as big a game as we’ve ever seen in Charlotte,” Wertz says. “I hope a lot of fans will come out to a great venue to see a great game.”
• Brooklyn Harker of Chapel Hill plays three positions on her high school football team. “Brooklyn grew up playing football since she was in the third grade,” Wertz said.