Defense and aerial assault power Panthers to 5th straight win

The Panthers traveled to Marcellus this past Friday night for a showdown with the Wildcats. The Panther defense proved to be much too tough for Marcellus allowing only 96 total yards on the evening as the Panthers won 34-8.

The Panthers took the opening kickoff but were forced to punt. The defense then went to work and forced the first of many three and outs. The offense then went back to work in what would be an explosive first quarter. With Marcellus loading the box to stop the vaunted Panther run game Senior QB Kevin Eastman went to the air. Eastman hit four different receivers as the Panthers marched down the field for their first TD of the night, an 11 yard TD strike to Senior WR Marco Montejano. The defense did not allow a first down during the entire first quarter giving the offense two more opportunities which they did not let fall to the wayside. Eastman went to the air again this time hitting explosive Junior WR Aaron Dabicci on a screen pass that Dabicci took 34 yards to paydirt. Montejano hit his 2nd of 4 extra points on the night and the visitors took an early 14-0 lead. The offense wasted little time on their next possesion as Eastman found Montejano again, this time for a 32 yard catch and run culminating the Panthers 3rd TD of the quarter. As the first quarter expired Watervliet had taken a commanding 21-0 lead.

While the defense continued to be stingy in the 2nd quarter, the offense slowed a little bit. Three promising drives, including one that got inside the Marcellus 5 yard line, came up empty. As halftime commenced the Panthers lead remained 21-0.

The defense continued its stellar play in the third quarter as Marcellus never crossed the 50 yard line. The offense capitalized on good field position as Eastman found Dabicci again for a 19 yard TD. Early in the 4th quarter the Panthers struck for the final time as the Eastman to Dabicci connection hit for a third time, this time from 32 yards out putting the Panthers up 34-0.

Marcellus was able to mount a late drive to keep the Panthers from getting shutout. However, that did not diminish the Panthers dominating defensive performance. Inside linebackers Collin Buck and Joe Isbrecht led the way with 13 and 12 tackles. Senior defensive end Max Goodrich continued his outtanding play with 5 tackles, while DE Angel Vasquez added 4 tackles, including 1 sack. Senior CB Tim Flagel added three tackles and an INT (his 4th of the season). It took Marcellus 39 carries to gain 91 yards on the ground, while the Wildcats only completed two passes on the night for a meager 5 yards. A truly dominating defensive performance to say the least.

Offensively the Panthers struggled to get the run game going. Marcellus loaded the box to stop super Sophomore Brett Thumm who had eclisped the century mark in each of the last four games. Thumm did lead the team in rushing with 30 yards on 16 carries. Eastman hauled it 5 times for 17 yards. While the Wildcats tried to stop the rush they were unable to stop the Panther passing attack. Eastman, enjoying the best passing game of his career, went 24/39 for 288 yards 5 TD’s and no INT’s. A truly outstanding performance. Leading the receiving corps was Dabicci who grabbed 7 balls for 115 yards and three TD’s. Senior Marco Montejano had his best receiving night of the year catching 6 passes for 83 yards and two TD’s. Senior WR’s Tim Flagel and Cory Quinn caught 6 and 3 passes for 56 and 19 yards respectively. Thumm also caught 2 passes for 15 yards.

Watervliet (5-1, 2-0) comes back to Panther Stadium next week for homecoming night as the Lawrence Tigers make the short trip down I-94. Lawrence (3-3, 1-1) fell to Decatur this past Friday night. Gametime is set for 7:00.