Panthers hand Cardinal first loss with shutout

Pekin established their running game early and never looked back while the defense did the rest for the Panthers in a dominating 53-0 win over Cardinal on September 21. The Panthers not only handed Cardinal their first loss of the season, they also got a game up on them in District play while their overall record is tied at 4-1.

The Panthers put up double digits in all four quarters, including 18 points in the opening quarter. Dayne Eckley helped pave the way early and capped off a scoring drive with a 71-yard dash to the endzone. That would be the story of the game as Cardinal had its hands full all night with multiple different backs getting touches.

Cardinal opened the second quarter with the ball, but the drive didn’t last long, as the Pekin defense forced a three and out. It didn’t take long for Pekin to get back into scoring position due to a long run from Eckley to get within ten yards of the end zone. Eckley finished out the drive by punching it in to give the Panthers a 25-0 lead.

“Cardinal did a nice job taking away some things we do well,” Pekin coach Bud Blakely said. “They made it difficult at times. We preach to our kids to get back to the fundamentals, and those were important in running the ball.”

Cardinal got a big boost of their own with a deep pass down the sideline as the receiver was able to get behind the corner back. The Panther defense pinned their ears back and forced another three and out, holding the Cardinal offense to minimal yards after the big catch. Already down big and with the field fairly open, the Cardinal punter took the snap and ran with it to convert for a first down. The scoring threat as Tanner Bainbridge got in front of the receiver and intercepted the lobbed pass from the Cardinal QB.

“It was part of the plan to put pressure on their QB. He proved in their first four games that if given enough time, he can tear any team apart,” Blakely said. “I wanted to see how we’d stay focused throughout the game. You don’t get to play undefeated teams a lot.”

Pekin continued to methodically move the ball down the field with their strong run game and got back into the red zone with only a handful of seconds left in the half. The offense executed a couple hurry-up plays followed by a timeout, setting the ball up at the one yard line. Bainbridge was given the ball and found a hole to tack on another six points for the Panthers. A couple second were left on the clock and a squib quick was recovered by Cardinal, followed by a QB kneel to send Pekin into the half up 32-0.

The second half wasn’t much different with the main change of different faces getting playing time for the Panthers. The Cardinal offense got some things going with their first possession of the half but stalled out for a turnover on downs just past midfield. Pekin looked to pick up more yards on the ground but instead coughed the ball back up, with Cardinal recovering. The Panthers again got Cardinal to turn the ball over on downs but, déjà vu, the offense fumbled it back.

The defense had been hounding the QB all game long and continued to get in the backfield, bringing him and the running back down a couple times for a loss of yards, leading to a Cardinal punt. The Panthers didn’t turn the ball over again and got some help with a big run by Zach Hammes followed by a QB keeper by Caleb Comstock, getting deep into the red zone. Bainbridge came in to take over for Comstock after he got tangled up following his rush and Bainbridge recorded another rushing score to make the score 39-0 with just under six minutes left in the third quarter.

“Putting up a shutout honestly blew me away,” Blakely said. “That’s a credit to our guys playing physical and credit to the defensive staff,” Blakely said.

More new faces made impacts in the final quarter of the game including a huge run by Lathe Crochet, busting through the line and leaving the defense behind him, only slowing once he got in the endzone. Michael Jones replicated Crochet with a big run of his own, coming up just shy of finishing out the run before getting tackled. He got another opportunity on the next play and made the most of it, getting into the endzone after the offensive line made a gap for him. The extra point was the last for Pekin, having put up 53 points on the scoreboard. Cardinal was given one more chance to avoid being shutout, but constant blitzes gave their offense little time for their receivers to get open. Time expired as Pekin was about to take possession again, preserving the shutout while handing Cardinal their first loss of the year.

“These guys are very capable of continuing to score for us. That’s the expectation, regardless of being second or third string, when you take the field there’s no drop off,” Blakely said. “We need to clean up the penalties, we won’t be able to get away with those going forward. The key is to stay focused on the task ahead of us. There’s no easy game, our District looks pretty good on paper right now.”

Pekin finished the game with 535 rushing yards, 225 yards coming from Eckley who rushed for three scores. Crochet had 81 yards on the ground with one score and Hammes and Jones rushed for 74 yards apiece with Jones recording a touchdown. Bainbridge added on his two scores to go along with 43 rushing yards and Cael Baker and Comstock combined for the final 38 yards.

Braden Latcham led the defense with eight tackles, all solo tackles, and Jones also recorded 7.5 tackles, seven solo tackles, and one tackle for a loss of yards. Cael Lyle was the lone Panther to get a sack while Logan Kealey also had a solo tackle for loss of yards. The four mentioned are only sophomores, showing the true depth the Panthers have on both sides of the ball.

The Panthers will be back on their home turf to host Highland, currently a ranked team in A football, for Homecoming on September 28.