Watervliet controls both sides of the ball on their way to a 41-8 victory over Bloomingdale

The Panthers outgained the homestanding Cardinals 462 yards to 181 Friday night as they cruised to a 33 point victory. The Panthers jumped on top early after forcing Bloomingdale to punt deep in their own territory. The punt was short and the offense took over at the Cardinal 31 yard line. On the first play Senior QB Kevin Eastman went downfield to Sophomore RB Brett Thumm on a 27 yard strike down the right sideline. One play later Thumm took it in from 4 yards out. Senior Marco Montejano nailed the extra point and the visitors took a quick 7-0 lead.

With the Panther defense shutting Bloomingdale down at every turn the offense got back to work late in the first quarter. Eastman hit on several passes including a 23 yard hookup with Senior WR Timmy Flagel. Meanwhile Thumm and the offensive line punished the Cardinal front with several nice runs. The drive culminated with Thumm’s 2nd rushing TD of the night, this time from 16 yards out.

The Panther offense struggled with 3 turnovers in the first half which killed several promising drives. The defense however was more than up to the task, getting a couple turnovers of their own. Flagel, also playing cornerback, picked off his 3rd pass of the season and Senior OLB Michael Johnson snagged another Bloomingdale attempt. The defensive toughness allowed the Panthers another shot late in the second quarter. Eastman went to Senior WR Marco Montejano on a quick screen pass and Montejano did the rest, evading several would be tacklers with some nifty moves and then turned on the jets going 69 yards to paydirt. Montejano then added his third extra point of the night and the Panthers held a 21-0 halftime lead.

The second half began with a bang as the Panthers took just two plays to reach the end zone again. This time Junior WR Aaron Dabicci took a reverse and showed his speed as he outraced the Bloomingdale defenders on his way to a 58 yard rushing TD. The extra point was no good, but the Panthers had extended their lead to 27-0. Bloomingdale then ground out their only significant drive of the evening, aided by a couple Panther penalties. As the fourth quarter began the Cardinals scored from two yards, then added the 2 pt. conversion to cut the Panther lead to 27-8.

The visitors once again struck quickly. Eastman found Dabicci on a screen pass and with the receivers and lineman walling off would be tacklers Dabicci did the rest, showing fantastic break away speed in outracing two defenders who had angles on him on his way to a 50 yard score. After getting another stop the Panthers would pound down the field with a steady diet of run plays. Thumm finished off the drive with his third trip to paydirt, this time from 18 yards out. Montejano cashed in another extra point and the scoring came to a close at 41-7.

Offensively the Panthers moved the ball very well all night. QB Kevin Eastman was 10/16 for 233 yards and 2 TD’s. Thumm led the team with 6 catches for 83 yards. Dabicci hauled in one for 50 yds and a TD, Montejano grabbed one for 69 yards and a TD, Flagel snagged one for 23 yards, and Senior WR Cory Quinn added 1 catch for 8 yards. The Panthers gained 229 yards on the ground on just 26 carries on the night. Thumm led the way with 115 yards on 14 carries (3 TD’s). Dabicci had 1 carry for 58 yards and a TD, Eastman kept it 7 times for 43 yards, and Senior RB Collin Buck trucked it 3 times for 19 hard fought yards.

Defensively the Panthers were dominant most of the night. For the third straight week the defense held their opponent to less than 3 yards/carry. Leading the way was Johnson who played like a man possessed from his OLB spot, getting 9 tackles (1 for a loss and 1 sack) breaking up 2 passes and picking off another. Inside linebackers Collin Buck and Joe Isbrecht continued their good play as well adding 13 and 12 tackles respectively. Buck also intercepted a pass. The D-line continues to improve every week with Seniors Max Goodrich, DJ Howley, and Jake Elliot all recording 5 tackles and a sack.

Watervliet (2-1, 0-0) takes to the road again next week to face Bangor. The Vikings (1-2, 0-0) beat Marcellus 14-12 Friday night to notch their first win of the year. Game time is set for 7:00.