Pekin powers past Wapello in Homecoming victory

PEKIN - All three phases contributed in one way or another.

During the Pekin homecoming game on Oct. 11 the Panthers were able to propel their way to a 57-0 victory over Wapello. During the game the Panthers were able to use all three phases of the game to power them to victory. 

“Scoring on all three phases is just a lot of fun for the kids,” said Klynt Weber, the head coach for Pekin. “When you’re able to score beyond just the offense it takes so much pressure off of the offense. Tonight we were definitely a well-oiled rig.”

Almost from the beginning of the game the pressure was relived of the offense for Pekin. The second time the Indians had the ball the Panther defense seemed to live in the backfield of the Indians. The first play resulted in a loss of seven yards. From there, a penalty backed the Indians up to the goal line. After the Indians barely escaped a safety on second down, the Panther defense made sure they weren’t going to miss again. 

A trio of Pekin defenders were able to gobble up Wapello quarterback, Rowen Atkinson, in the endzone for a safety, awarding the Panthers two quick points. 

“They are always a physical team, their coaches do a great job with Wapello,” Weber said. “We haven’t sputtered a lot early on this year. It is one of those things that we just were able to take control early on and that helped us.”

The offense scored on the next possession, and then it was the special teams turn to showcase their own scoring ability. 

A long punt by Wapello was fielded off a near perfect bounce to Pekin junior Riley Smith. Smith cut across the field and started to run up the Pekin sideline. After sidestepping a tackle at midfield, Smith might have had a sigh of relief. In front of him were his own teammates providing blocks for the speedy junior. 

Using the blocks from his teammates Smith scurried down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown. The Panthers were cooking with an early 16-0 lead. 

Pekin used the offense to near perfection as they mixed the run and the pass. Later in the first half Henry Adam and Nolan Glick both scored off touchdown runs, and just before halftime a wide open Kasey Davis was able to haul in a 42-yard touchdown pass. 

The Panthers were comfortably ahead 37-0 at halftime, but their hunger didn’t slow down in the second half. 

“We’ve thrown the ball a lot this year,” Weber said. “We’ve been as balanced as we could be. I told my OC early in the second half that it was good to just chip away and chip away at the yards rather than just scoring right away.”

The quick scores still came in the second half. The Panthers started the second half with a 9-play, 82-yard drive that ended with Glick scoring off a two yard touchdown run. 

Later the special teams of the Panthers scored for the second time of the night when Landon Crow picked up a blocked punt and returned that for a touchdown. The final score of the night came when Davis was able to intercept a Wapello pass and return it 30-yards for a touchdown. 

“Overall, yeah, forcing a goose egg is pretty cool for us,” Weber said.

This is the fourth shutout of the season that the Panthers have been able to record. The win brings Pekin to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in district play. 

Will Adam was 3-7 passing for 55 yards, one touchdown and an interception. 

The Panthers ran for 257 yards and four touchdowns in the game. Will Adam led the way with 87 ruching yards and a touchdown. Glick added 68 yards and two touchdowns. Henry Adam ran for 37 yards and one touchdown.

Robert Brown and Davis had the three catches for the Panthers. Brown had two catches for 13 yards. Davis caught one pass for a 42 yard touchdown. 

Glick had 4.5 tackles in the game, including two sacks. Alijah Brock led the Panthers with 6.5 tackles in the game.