SHERBURN &8212; The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva football team traveled to Sherburn Wednesday night to take on Martin County West in its last regular season game and came away on the short end of the stick losing 43-6.

The Panthers defense played tough but gave up a 68-yard bomb to start the second quarter and fell behind 8-0.

Travis Wayne led the Panthers&8217; defense with 10 tackles on the night while Justin Stieglbauer and Mitch Brekke added nine apiece.

Alex Wagner got the Panthers on the board in the second with a 31-yard scamper but after a failed extra point attempt, NRHEG still trailed 8-6.

MCW crossed the goal line one more time before the half on a 5-yard pass and took a 14-6 lead into the locker room.

&8220;Injuries have hurt us all year,&8221; said NRHEG head coach Dan Stork. &8220;We lost our two starting corners, who are also wideouts, and our starting running back, its just been tough trying to overcome those loses.&8221;

Tate Anderson scored on a 2- yard run in the third for MCW and a 22-6 lead. The Panthers defense held tough and NRHEG was still in the game at the start of the fourth quarter only trailing by 16.

Dakota Tracy had a rough night in the pocket completing only three passes for 36 yards and two interceptions. The Panthers had two players rush the ball for over seven yards per carry on the night. Gavin Schlaak, who rushed for a team high 90 yards, and Alex Wagner who carried 10 times for 75 yards and one touchdown.

The loss drops the Panthers to 4-4 on the season after starting the year 3-0. NRHEG will host USC Tuesday for its first round section playoff game. The Panthers took the first meeting between these two Gopher Valley Conference foes just last Friday, 14-12.