The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale Geneva Panthers football team lost Saturday to the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Buccaneers 46-16 in the Section 2AA semifinals.

The Buccaneers opened up a 40-0 lead in the third quarter, before the Panthers scored two of the game’s final three touchdowns.

“W-E-M is a very good football team” Panthers head coach Dan Stork said. “I am very proud of the class that our kids played with and the fact that they did not roll over and quit.”

The Panthers scored on a 14-yard pass from quarterback Sam Lundberg to Evan Ferber, and a 65-yard pass from Lundberg to David Lassahn — both scores came in the third quarter.

“We gave up some big plays that really could have taken the wind out of our sails but the guys kept playing hard,” Stork said.