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AGANA HEIGHTS, Guam – Though Guam High completed its first winless regular season in school history, there were some things the Panthers could take with them into the playoffs, coach Jacob Dowdell said.

The Panthers led at halftime 14-9 before Keanu Diego rallied Southern to a 31-21 win over Guam – the Dolphins’ first win since the 2011 season. Guam finished 0-6 and is seeded last going into a first-round playoff matchup with second-place John F. Kennedy.

“Just youth, just like all the rest of our games,” Dowdell said of a team that has eight first-year players on defense. “Southern played a good game. They were well coached. I’m very proud of Southern coming out and getting that first win. My hat’s off to them.”

As he’s done the last couple of weeks, Dowdell has been shuffling players into different positions, in almost chess-like fashion. And he says he’s finding his players can do many things he wasn’t expecting. “Very versatile, absolutely,” he said.

One of them was sophomore Juan King, whom Dowdell used at quarterback, running back and receiver – and he accounted for all three Panthers touchdowns. King was 2-for-6 passing for 72 yards and two TDs, caught three passes for 45 yards and ran 11 times for 78 yards and a score.

“He could be a future star,” Dowdell said.

King caught all three of those passes from Trip Chauret. Lewis Harris caught both of King’s touchdown passes.

Regular quarterback Kaimana Bamba, pressed into emergency duty at linebacker and cornerback, recorded a team-high 14 tackles.

The Interscholastic Football League playoffs are scheduled to start next Friday. But they might not, since one regular-season game, postponed from Aug. 22, between George Washington and Okkodo might be rescheduled if league officials deem it necessary, league president Martin Boudreau said. That has yet to be determined.

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