The Panthers from Erie – Prophetstown prowled into Morrison following a painful defeat the previous week to Newman and left their mark on the host Mustangs in a one-sided 47-6 contest.
The Mustangs won the coin toss and elected to receive and hoped to establish an aerial game on their first possession, but two pass attempts to Ryan Mayberry were off the mark and the Panthers’ first possession ended in a punt by Mason Sitzmore. The punt was mishandled and recovered by Mayberry on the E-P 36-yard line and the Mustangs had new life.
Morrison started their next drive with a Mason Sitzmore to Austin Keller pass over the middle for 16 yards and the Mustangs we’re first and ten on the Panther 20-yard line. Andy Bird tried the Panther right side for no gain and Sitzmore couldn’t connect with three aerials , the last one to Kollin Burn in the end zone, and the Mustangs turned the ball over on downs at the E-P 20-yard line.
An offense that thrives on the running of Nick Williams and Ethan Howard and a line anchored around Kenneth Cole and Kyle Coleman immediately took charge and mounted an eleven play drive that ended with a 25-yard charge up the middle by Williams and with 6:08 on the clock, the Panthers were in the end zone.
Following the kickoff, the Mustangs fumbled on the second snap and Coleman recovered on the Morrison 29-yard line. Three plays gained only 5 yards before Howard connected with Chris Bauer for a 24-yard score and the Panthers led 12-0 with 3:36 left in the first quarter. Morrison’s next series mustered only four yards and the Panthers ended the quarter in control on the Morrison 46-yard line.
To start the second quarter, the defense dug in and stopped Williams on two attempts and the Panthers had to punt for the first of only two punts all evening. The punt pinned the Mustangs deep in their own territory on the 10-yard line. Following a Morrison three and out, the Panthers started another scoring drive on the Morrison 26-yard line. The next drive saw Howard carry three times for nine yards and Williams three times for sixteen yards before Howard crossed the goal on a 3-yard quarterback keeper and the score expanded to 18-0.
A minute and forty-one seconds later, the Panthers were in possession again from their own 25-yard line. Bauer immediately skirted the left end for twenty-four yards to initiate the drive and five plays later ended the drive with a 15-yard run into the end zone and the Panthers were in control 24-0 with 2:50 left in the half. Again Morrison only held possession for 85 seconds and the Panthers regained possession with 1:25 on the clock. Howard immediately found Bauer for a 44-yard touchdown completion and the half ended with the Erie-Prophetstown leading 32-0. The stats told the story as the Panthers recorded 273 total yards compared to the Mustangs 7 and the Mustangs recorded only one first down.
The second half started with the Mustang defense holding the Panthers to a three and out and they took possession on their own 35-yard line. A penalty and a 28-yard pass completion to Mayberry and the Mustangs were first and ten on the 20-yard line. Two carries by Andy Bird set up a 13-yard touchdown run up the middle by Austin Shoup to put Morrison on the board 32-6 with 7:02 left in the third quarter. Erie-Prophetstown needed less then two minutes to retaliate when Bauer crossed the goal from eight yards out and the score expanded to 40-6.
The remainder of the third quarter and four minutes into the fourth quarter saw Morrison lose possession on two drives due to the fumble and the Panthers had a drive ended with a Justin Rodriquez interception. The Panthers penetrated the Morrison end zone one more time at the 6:39 mark of the final quarter and formed the final score 47-6.
The final statistics revealed the Panthers gaining 283 yards (William – 131 yards) on the ground compared to the Mustangs 50 and they connected on only three passes, but two were for touchdowns on catches of 24 and 44 yards.
The Mustangs will end their 2013 season with a road trip to Riverdale next Friday, October 25.