The following are reports from the Sandhills Optimist Club football leagues for games held last week.

Tackle Football

Packers 38, Steelers 18: The Packers remained unbeaten, defeating the Steelers 36-18 to run their record to a league-leading 4-0. Brandon Smith started the game off with a spectacular 70-yard kick return to the Steeler one-yard line. Austin Embler scored three touchdowns, while rushing for over 100 yards for the third straight game. Chance Castillo and Brandon Smith combined for over 100 yards on the ground. Tyler Packard and Cody Volk both scored touchdowns for the Packers. The offensive line of Brian Hedrick, Christian Boeger, Gregory Mello, Austin Fowler and Tristian Mullins played well. The Packers' defense was led by Michael Minor, Hunter Belton, Turner Albro and Robert Cates. For the Steelers, Nick Lacy rushed for 202 yards and scored three touchdowns. Defensively Matthew Mindak, Ryan Weibert, Corley Walker, Bryant Smith and Chris Isom were in on a handful of tackles.

Redskins 18, Patriots 8: The Redkins scored on two long runs by Jackson Maples, who finished the game with over 150 yards rushing. Dalton Bullard added a third score on a four-yard run. Tyler Thompson, Will Morris, Dave Ivey, Brett Stewart and Conley Lomax all played well on offense, while leading tacklers for the Redskins were Jacob Hofsetstter, Devon Oldham, Cody Artman and Maples. The Patriots were led by quarterback Tristan Helms, who had another strong perfomance running an improving offensive attack. Justin Sengkhamphong ate up a ton of yardage with several strong running bursts, most of the time with half of the Redskin team hanging on to him. La'Shawn Hollingsworth provided the outside attack in getting the only touchdown for the Patriots. Helms added the two-point kick. The Patriots' defense was led by Malik Newsome and Tristan Helms, with both making a lot of tackles. Thomas Baggett, J.D. McIntosh, John Major, Justin Sengkhamphong, Zaire Graham, Zion Ervin and Hunter Burns played stout defense in the middle for the Patriots.

Flag Football

Dolphins 19, Redskins 12: The Redskins and Dolphins were knotted up in defensive struggle going into halftime with the score tied at 12-all. The score remained the same until a little more than two minutes left in the contest. The Redskins turned the ball over on downs after ball carrier Brayden Edwards flag fell off in the backfield on first, second and third down. For the Dolphins, Matt Peele scored on the second play from scrimmage on a long run, while Ayinde' McKnight caught passes from Will Helms and Trent McKay. The Dolphins' defense provided two points on a safety. The defense was led by Alex Dent, Chase Hensley, Zion McKnight, Chandler Baker and Peele. Alex Dent and Chandler Baker each had long runs for Dolphins, while Jared Osborne caught two passes. For the Redskins, the defense was led by Nick Williamson, Tommy Cerja, Mac Clark, and Dakota Boiken, each with several tackles. The defense didn't allow the Dolphins to produce any sustained drives, but gave up two touchdowns on broken plays. The Redskins got big runs from Trip Chauret, Brayden Edwards and Tommy Cerja. Garret Cross performed well at center, with no muffed center-to-quarterback exchanges. Isaiah Minniear contributed to the offense with several key blocks and just barely missed what would have been a key catch for a drive-sustaining first down.

Packers 32, Broncos 12: The Packers gained their first win of the season with a 32-12 victory over the Broncos. The offense was led by Will Lassiter, who rushed for three touchdowns. Pres Remington also found the end zone with a rushing touchdown of his own. The defense was anchored by Jordan Gray, who had seven tackles. Nick Finnegan contributed to the scoring with an interception that he returned for a touchdown. For the Broncos, J. D. Robinson caught a touchdown pass and Ryder Giles ran for a score off a reverse to pace the offense. Jared Via completed two passes. The defense was led by Via, Owen Valenti and Ryder Giles, with two tackles each.

Cowboys 22, Packers 22: In a thriller, the Cowboys and Packers game came down to the final play. Tied 22-all, the game's last play was a pass by Packers quarterback Will Lassiter to Nick Finnegan. Finnegan broke a few tackles only to be forced out of bounds on the five-yard line by a Cowboy defender. The Packers scored offensively with one touchdown run by Pres Remington and another touchdown run by Finnegan. He also scored on a long touchdown reception thrown by Lassiter. Lassiter also completed extra point conversions to Jordan Gray and Finnegan. The defensive unit played together with excellent teamwork by Kyle Ehlers, Matthew Richter, Cameron Lunday, Ian Johnson, Jordan Gray and Dylan Gray. On a crucial play in the second half, Dylan Gray made an impressive tackle on third down, stopping the ball carrier just short of a first-down conversion. For the Cowboys, the defense played solid the entire game, led by Connor Elliott returning an interception for a touchdown. Jacob Coxe, J.T. Adams, Hart Womack and Liam McLean all pulled multiple flags for the Cowboys. Ryan Finn caught a touchdown pass from Anderson Allgeyer, and a two-point conversion pass from Allgeyer. Benjamin Crow caught a 22-yard pass for a big gain in the second half. Elliott added another touchdown on a nice run and Hart Womack ran in a two-point conversion for the 'Boys.

Panthers 33, Broncos 0: The Panthers improved their record to 4-0-1 with the win over the Broncos. The Panther defense led the way with safety Christian Hiatt intercepting two passes and returning them for touchdowns. Davis Byrd, Nick Kuzma, Wil Gilder and Tommy Vinson held the Broncos scoreless for their first shutout this season. Tailbacks Cole Kirkpatrick and Parker Nelson had rushing touchdowns for the Panthers, while receiver Patrick Ballard also had a few long runs for the Panthers. For the Broncos, Jared Via and Joshua Mugglin had three tackles each, and Bryce Davis had four tackles. Cody Peele had an interception. Tommy Maginnis had a long run on offense for the Broncs.

Vikings 52, Cowboys 6: Evan Braswell led the Vikings with three touchdown receptions -- two from Andrew Harmody and one from Matthew Walters. Tyrese Kelly and Garris Stokes each ran for touchdowns. Harmody hooked up with Noah Thompson for another score and a two-point conversion. Thompson also passed to Caleb Hendrix and to Harmody for extra-point conversion scores. On defense, Jacob Robbins and Thompson each had an interception return for touchdowns. Jakob Barlow and Orion Kamrowski-Poppen also had big games with several stops for the Vikings. For the Cowboys, Benjamin Crow caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Anderson Allgeyer for the Cowboys points on the night. Allgeyer hooked up with Connor Elliott on a nice 35-yard pass play in the second half and with Ryan Finn on a 29-yarder for the 'Boys late in the game.

Vikings 31, Falcons 6: Tyrese Kelly ran for three touchdowns and Noah Thompson and Jacob Robbins also added long touchdown runs for the Vikes. Andrew Harmody hooked up with Thompson to add an extra point. The Viking defense was led by Harmody, Jakob Barlow, Orion Kamrowski-Poppen, Caleb Hendrix, Garris Stokes, Matthew Walters and Evan Braswell.

Panthers 32, 49ers 6: The Panther defense led the team to its fifth victory, improving the Panthers record to 5-0-1 with the win over the 49ers. The Panther defense was led by Christian Hiatt with two interceptions returned for touchdowns. Davis Byrd and Nick Kuzma also had interceptions for the Panthers. Safety Tommy Vinson and defensive end Cole Kirkpatrick had six tackles apiece for the Panthers. The offense was led by receivers Parker Nelson and Patrick Ballard. Davis Byrd caught one touchdown, and Hiatt and Kirkpatrick had touchdown runs for the Panthers