The last time Pelion High School football started 3-0, it was led in 2001 by all-state players and current Power Five Division One assistant coaches Josh and Justin Stepp.

On Thursday, the current edition of the Panthers matched that feat with a 20-13 home win over Eau Claire.

“We’re just happy for our guys,” Pelion head coach Dann Holland said. “We played very poorly tonight. We were very sloppy. We turned the ball over inside the Red Zone two times. But we came out and won it. I’m not going to complain about a win. We’ll take it, run to the house and enjoy the weekend.”

It was the second Thursday night win of the season for Pelion, which dedicated the game to alumnus Jennifer Hall. The Panther coaches all wore black shirts with “Fight Like Jennifer” written on the front in white letters in support of her battle with cancer and a raffle was held for her family.

The game was tied at 6-6 at halftime as both teams failed to convert points after touchdowns. Christian Anderson had a rushing touchdown for the Shamrocks and Pelion quarterback Luke New connected on a scoring pass to Tyler Classen.

“Luke is a gamer and he’s very intelligent with what we’re doing,” Holland said. “He understands where we’re trying to get the ball. He practices hard every day. He shows up every day. He lifts good every day. He does good in the classroom every day. He’s what we call a football player. He’s the total package for us. We’re just got to keep him healthy and let the offense runs through him.”

The Panthers scored on the opening drive of the second half on a touchdown run by Carlos Rivera. The first play of the fourth quarter saw Michael Cotrell score from three yards and the Panthers run in the two-point conversion for a 20-7 lead.

Samir Holloway completed a touchdown pass to Rickie Murray with 6:33 left. Pelion punted the ball back with less than three minutes left, but Holloway was sacked with 56 seconds left to turn the ball over on downs.

Pelion will play one final Thursday night game Oct. 6 at home against Fox Creek. Its next game is Sept. 9 against rival Gilbert.