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Panthers swamp the Pirates 36-3
The Marengo High School Panthers used a solid running game and an aggressive defense to defeat the Fruitdale Pirates 36-3 in an important regional game for both teams this past Friday, October 13. In the game, which served as the Panthers Homecoming, Coach Scottie Jones and his staff found several things to smile about. "It was a big Homecoming win for us and the fans," the Panther Head Man said. "A lot of the success we had can be attributed to our ability to run the ball. I can't say enough about the way our young offensive line played. I thought they did a very good job and continue to show steady improvement from week to week." The particular group Jones was referring to included; Scottie Jones (Center), Morris Daniel and Kaylos Pritchett (Guards) and Jahmal Jones and Larrence Pritchett (Tackles). Two of the group, Scottie Jones and Morris Daniel were actually filling in for starters Darrius Dixon and Quintin Watkins who were out due to injury. The efforts of this group seem more special when you consider that except for one junior the rest of the group range in age from sophomores down to eighth graders. In the game, the Panthers got out to an early lead when Ronnie Hildreth rumbled in from 53 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Quarterback James Bennett then hit Kenneth Jones with a pass for the two-point conversion and Marengo led 8-0. The lone touchdown in the opening quarter was only a prelude to what was to come. With the defense shutting down the Pirate offense on every series, the Panther offense took advantage of their opportunities adding a flurry of scores in the second quarter. The first of these came on a 43-yard sprint by Keldred Bouler. The two-point conversion attempt failed but the Panthers led 14-0. The Panthers added another one mid-way the second period with Bouler picking up his second touchdown of the night, rambling 50 yards to pay dirt this time. James Bennett called his own number on the two-point conversion and the Panther lead had been extended to 22-0. Marengo would add one more before intermission when D. J. Brown got loose and raced 50 yards to glory. Ronnie Hildreth barreled in with the two-point conversion and the Marengo lead stood at 30-0 as the teams retired to the locker rooms. Trailing by such a margin, it would have been easy for the Pirates to raise the white flag in the second half but there was no quit in this bunch from Southwest Washington County. Playing with as much if not more intensity than they had in the first half the Pirates did manage to get on the scoreboard with a 50 yard field goal in the third period while holding the Panthers scoreless. It was too little; too late however as the Panther defense wouldn't let the Pirates get any further shutting them out in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile the Panther offense put an exclamation point on the win with a 62-yard Donte Packer touchdown in the fourth period. The two-point conversion failed leaving the final at 36-3. The Panther offense which racked up a 483 total yards , accumulated 476 yards on the ground and only seven in the air on their way to 17 first downs and 36 points. The stable of backs including Bennett, Bouler, Brown, Hildreth and Packer all had good nights hitting their holes and running to daylight behind their young line. On the flip side, the opportunistic Panther defense, which recovered three fumbles and had three interceptions, basically stymied the Pirate offense all night. Quentin Bouler led the charge with 18 tackles, two sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Following him was; Kaylos Pritchett with 16 tackles, two sacks, and a fumble recovery and Keldred Bouler with 12 tackles. Also picking up interceptions were James Dumas and Kenneth Jones. On the agenda next for the Panthers is another important regional game with the Millry Wildcats. The game, which will be played at "The Swamp", is vital to the playoff aspirations of the Panthers. "Our game with Millry this week is critical for us," Panther Coach Scottie Jones said. "Millry and McIntosh, who we will play after Millry, both have 3 and 2 region records like us and are competing with us for the third and fourth seeds in our region. We need to win both games but must start with Millry this week." Looking at the Wildcats Jones had this to say about them. "Millry will come at us with a balanced offensive attack and a defense that will be geared to stopping our running game. They have a very good team and we can't afford to make the mistakes we made this past Friday if we plan to beat them." Kick off for the game is set for 7 p.m. Friday, October 20, in Dixons Mills.
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