AGANA HEIGHTS, Guam – Nate Williams has served as an offensive-line fixture this season for Guam High. On Saturday, coach Jacob Dowdell said he asked Williams to play just as big on the opposite side of the line and Williams responded magnificently to make homecoming a happy one for the Panthers.

Williams came through with 12 tackles at the linebacker position, five for losses, while Avery Fernandez and Xavier Jones each scored touchdowns to help Guam snap a four-game losing streak, closing the regular season with a 14-6 win over Southern.

“Very happy homecoming,” Dowdell said. “They stepped up to play football tonight. I am so proud of all of them. We lost the battle for field position early, but the defense stood up and played football.”

Dowdell also credited Williams and his offensive linemates, Ethan Rivera, Bobby Withers, C.J. Sharpe and Ronald Luma, for creating space for Fernandez, who ran 20 times for 85 yards. Jujuan King also hit Jones for an acrobatic 35-yard touchdown pass that Dowdell called “a thing of beauty.”

Others made big plays that either helped give the Panthers momentum, Dowdell said, such as Solomon White’s 50-yard run out the wildcat formation, and T.J. Aguon’s drive-squelching interception. “Those were a shot in the arm for us,” Dowdell said.

With the win, the Panthers sealed fifth place in the final Interscholastic Football League standings, and will visit Okkodo in the first round of the playoffs, with kickoff at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs beat the Panthers 21-13 in their regular-season meeting on Sept. 18.

“We have some unfinished business at Okkodo,” Dowdell said.

The winner of that game faces the winner of Tiyan-Father Duenas Memorial in the semifinals on Oct. 17. The league championship Bamboo Bowl is scheduled for Oct. 24.

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