The Midlothian Panthers scored a pair of touchdowns in the first half and held on for a 14-7 victory over Cleburne on Friday night at Yellow Jacket Stadium.

With the loss, Cleburne (3-2) drops to 0-2 in District 16-4A play heading into Friday night’s game at Ennis.

Cleburne head coach Phil Young said the difference between the first two district games was like night and day.

“It was a great effort,” Young said. “We fought. We fought like crazy. They played a heck of a game and I’m very proud of our kids. They finished strong, the coaches coached hard and we made one too many mistakes.”

The Jackets lost to Midway 43-0 in the 16-4A opener last week.

Midlothian quarterback Bryce Petty capped the Panthers’ first drive of the game with an 18-yard touchdown scramble to give his team a 7-0 lead with 8:31 to play in the first quarter.

The Jackets answered with a six-play drive that covered 23 yards before punting the ball back to Midlothian.

Cleburne’s defense held the Panthers and forced consecutive three and outs, but the Jackets’ offense was unable to move the ball as the teams traded possessions.

Late in the first quarter, Midlothian took over at the Panthers’ 41 and Petty attempted a throw downfield on a post pattern.

Cleburne cornerback Greg Simpson intercepted the pass to give the Jackets the ball at their own 35.

Cleburne’s offense kicked into gear and went on an 11-play drive, with seven rushing attempts on the series.

The Jackets ended up with a first down at the Midlothian 27 when quarterback Ty Taylor attempted to complete a pass to running back Robert White across the middle of the field.

Midlothian’s Dante Floyd intercepted the pass and outran the Jackets’ offensive players for a 90-yard return for the Panthers’ second score of the night.

After Vince Frawley’s extra point, Midlothian held a 14-0 lead with 7:44 remaining in the second quarter.

“I thought we gave ourselves a good chance to win,” Cleburne offensive coordinator Tommy Webb said. “I don’t think we did anything to hurt ourselves except for the interception. That’s us as coaches. We had the wrong personnel in the game. We had Robert who was running the route and he really hadn’t repped it. When you have the wrong personnel in there, that’s our fault as coaches. Ty threw the ball and he threw it where he was supposed to — where he’s been throwing it all year long — and we just had the wrong guy in the game.”

Late in the half, the Jackets drove down the field against the Panthers’ defense again, covering 26 yards in 10 plays to set up a 41-yard field goal attempt by Omar Roa with 6.4 seconds left.

The snap was low and Midlothian was able to block the attempt as the teams headed to the break with the Panthers holding the 14-0 lead.

The Jackets failed to score on their first possession of the second half, but Justin Gauntt came up with a sack of Petty to force the Panthers to punt.

Cleburne took possession at its own 42 and Trace Turner — who left the game in the first quarter with a dislocated shoulder — caught a 13-yard pass from Taylor on a third and 10 play to keep the drive alive.

“Trace Turner is a warrior — is a warrior,” Young said. “The kid dislocates his shoulder in the first quarter and he misses about three plays and he plays the rest of the game. He made some big plays, some big catches. He had that shoulder and he was nearly crying in pain, but he doesn’t miss a lick. We had a lot of warriors out there tonight.”

With the ball resting on the Midlothian 46 and the Jackets facing a second and 12 play, Turner was on the receiving end of a 27-yard pass from Taylor to move the ball to the 19.

The Jackets chose to run the ball on three straight plays from there, with Taylor taking the ball to the 11 on an eight yard scamper. Gauntt carried the ball to the 6 on the next play and scored from there one play later to cap the drive.

Roa’s extra point closed the gap to 14-7 with 2:57 left in the third period.

The Panthers got the ball back at their own 26 and picked up a first down on the ground.

On third and eight from the 38, Gauntt and Chris Clark combined on a sack of Petty to force another Midlothian punt as time ran out in the third period.

The Jackets’ next drive stalled and Cleburne had to punt the ball back to Midlothian.

The Panthers picked up one first down, but Cleburne’s defense stiffened and the Jackets took possession at their own 30 after another Midlothian punt.

The Jackets promptly earned three first downs to move the ball into Panther territory at the 34.

Two plays later, Cleburne was faced with a third and 13 play with 2:54 left in the game and Taylor scrambled for a 24-yard gain to place the ball at the 13.

On third and 13, Taylor scrambled to the 10 yard line to set up a fourth down and 6 play with a minute left, but his fourth-down pass to the end zone fell incomplete.

Midlothian took over and ran out the final minute to claim the victory.

Taylor went 14-of-33 for 116 passing yards and also carried the ball 15 times for a team-high 77 yards. McCoy finished with 48 yards on 18 carries.

Turner caught six passes for 66 yards, while White, Brodrick Martin and D’Montre Davison had two receptions each for the Jackets.

Cleburne’s defense limited Midlothian to 98 yards, with Petty completing 10-of-18 passes for 61 yards. Torey Harris was the Panthers’ leading rusher, finishing with 43 yards on 10 carries.