KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany -- When the host Kaiserslautern Raiders scored the first 10 points of their 2014 DODDS-Europe Division I football opener Friday night, it appeared the rout was on.

And so it was.

For the other guys.

The visiting Patch Panthers responded to the Raiders' early flurry with 20 unanswered points over the balance of the first half and 21 more consecutive points after halftime in a convincing 41-20 victory.

The new-look Panther offense, running a wishbone set that coach Bill Ratcliff introduced in practice just days ago, sprung into action as soon as the Raiders' double-digit lead hit the scoreboard midway through the first quarter.

"We run several different formations. This is one we hadn't touched yet," Ratcliff said, adding that a review of last year's game against Kaiserslautern indicated that the wishbone might find success against the Raiders.

A newly diverse offense and some old-fashioned grunt work brought the wishbone to vibrant life.

"We have a lot of skilled players right now," Ratcliff said. "But it doesn't happen without the line. The line was phenomenal today."

Running back Myles Bryant ignited a first-quarter Patch scoring drive that culminated in a touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Holten Sparling to wideout Jamie Ensley. Sparling put his team in front in the second quarter on a long run, to which running back Cole Smith tacked on a two-point conversion. And Bryant capped the onslaught with a powerful short-range run, dragging a pack of thwarted Raider tacklers with him into the end zone and emerging still upright with arms held triumphantly skyward.

The Raiders managed to avoid a full-blown disaster by dodging two second-quarter Patch threats - one a trip inside the five, the next a successful reverse negated by an illegal block.

No matter. Raider kicker Ryan Rimmler sparked a glimmer of home-team hope with his second field goal of the game to pull Kaiserslautern to within 20-13 early in the third quarter, but the Panther pounding resumed thereafter.

Bryant barged in for his second touchdown with three minutes to play in the third and Tim Makee and Bryant each scored late for the final Panther points.

Bryant, a returning junior, is reveling in his central role in the souped-up Panther offense.

"When it comes down to it, you have to make big plays," Bryant said while acknowledging the considerable efforts of his blockers on the offensive line. "They gave me the ball and I stepped up and I got those big plays done."

The game's early going suggested that Kaiserslautern held the edge in this battle of 2013 European semifinalists. New senior quarterback Bridger Hawkins was effective, scattering passes to a variety of receivers and gathering yards on the ground. He scored his first touchdown on a keeper just over two minutes into the opening quarter, and ran in again in the waning minutes of the long-decided game.

But in between, omnipresent Patch defender Jay Deal and his hard-hitting Panther cohorts repeatedly pulled the Raiders' new attack down into the unforgiving turf.

"Their hurry-up offense, we weren't ready for that," Deal said. "But some of the adjustments by the coaches helped out, and we did our job."

That was true across the board for the Panthers, who are now looking forward to bigger things, starting with a European-semifinal rematch with Ramstein next Saturday.

"This is the start," Bryant said. "We've just got to keep building."

broome.gregory@stripes.com

Twitter: @broomestripes

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