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The Lanett Panthers were shut out 12-0 by the Reeltown Rebels in Notasulga on Thursday night.

The Panthers are still looking for an offensive identity as starting quarterback Jarrious Goodman is out for the season.

Lanett relied on Elijah Whitfield and Keondae Hughley to take over under center, but their short week didn’t give those two enough time to beat a good team like Reeltown.

Lanett head coach Clifford Story knows they’re still looking for an offensive identity.

“We only had two days of preparation with the new guys,” Story said.

“Those two guys did an awesome job with only two days of preparation. Reeltown has a really good football team, but we gave up a deep ball, and we fumbled on the 10 yard line. That’s how they got both scores.”

Despite the loss, Story was pleased with the effort his guys showed, especially on defense.

“We still just have to put our athletes in space and give them a chance,” Story said.

“We’re getting better. We still have a good chance to play in the postseason. We have to keep getting better each week.”

Story plans on starting Elijah Whitfield at quarterback going forward.

“We’ll still have some packages for Keondae because of his running ability,” Story said. “Lala gives us a better chance throwing the ball, so we’re just going to give them the opportunity to make plays. We found some things on offense with Alajawon Whitfield. We can put Junior Bynum back as a deep threat. I like where we’re headed. We moved the ball really well.”

This is the first time in Story’s career where he hasn’t been able to rely on a single starting quarterback.

“The last several years, I had guys who would declare as quarterbacks early on in the spring,” Story said.

“This is a first for me, but it’s teaching me things about the game as far as play calling and getting a little creative. I’ve always had a system, but now it’s causing me to go outside things I believe in. It’s good for the program as well as myself. We’re just going to keep working on what we can do to give us a chance to be successful. We’re going to keep fighting.”

The Panthers’ defense continues to be their strong suit.

“I saw a lot of resilience,” Story said. “I saw a lot of fight. I saw a lot of character. We can take that moving forward. We’re going to be fine.”

Lanett will return home for their homecoming rivalry against LaFayette next weekend.

“We’re going to work on our offense,” Story said.

“We’re going to work on our verbiage. I think our verbiage is a little too long. We’re going to simplify it. When you have two guys that never played quarterback, we just have to change it. We couldn’t do a lot with two days of preparation. I’m proud of my staff. Our kids are still fighting.”