KOREA
Kadena running back Ethan Ferch tries to avoid Kubasaki defender Connor McBee.

Kadena running back Ethan Ferch tries to avoid Kubasaki defender Connor McBee. (Heather Mendoza/Special to Strip)

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa – New season opener, same result.

Haustin Lunsford scored twice, including a 95-yard kick return to open the second half and Kubasaki held off a two-touchdown fourth-quarter Kadena rally to edge the defending Far East Division I champion Panthers 14-13 Friday at Ryukyu Middle School.

“Another nail biter,” Kubasaki coach Tony Alvarado said of the Dragons’ second straight season-opening victory at Habu Field in as many seasons. Kubasaki beat Kadena 34-20 last Sept. 8 at the same site, but the Panthers went unbeaten the rest of the way. Read more at stripes.com.

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