footballrecaps

9.18.20 PANTHERS SO CLOSE, BUT FALL TO TIGERS

It was a chilly fall evening and in this “adjusted” football season, senior night was upon us just four games into the season. The panthers still had a bad taste in their mouth’s from last years officiating debacle that stole a “W” from Parkway. It has been a mixed bag for the panthers this season, they look really good at times and then just plain bad. The reality is that they aren’t a bad team. They were blown out in one game and that was due their own mistakes. Versailles came into the contest having a pretty good season and expecting to leave Rockford with a blowout victory. The way the game started for Versailles, it looked as if that would come true. After a 20 yard kickoff return, it took the tigers just one play to find the end zone. It was on an end around that Jack Osborne had nothing but green gratin vein as he rumbled for a 65 yard score with just 22 seconds off the clock. Oh crap, this isn’t how the panthers envisioned the start of the game. The panthers first possession was a “three and out”. The tigers t ensuing drive went for seven plays and nearly seventy yards. But on the last play of the drive, it was the panthers Justan Felver with the interception for Parkway to halt the Versailles scoring attempt. Parkway took over on the 3 yard line and moved the ball to near mid-field, but the drive stalled there. With the clock nearing one minute left in the first quarter, the tigers scored again on the heels of a 33 yard run. That pushed the score to 14-0 after just one period of play. The scoring continued to the dismay of panther fans. Versailles added another score with just under seven minutes left in the first half. Now it was 21-0 and really looking like the visitors would run away with this game. Not so fast my friends, the next Versailles series wouldn’t end in their favor. Anthony Heck and Grahm Farmer stuffed the first play for just one yard. Then Brendon Etzcorn throttled the receiver after a small gain. The tigers managed to get the first down by a mere yard, but the receiver felt the pain that Tyler Tinkham brought with the tackle. On the fourth play of the drive, Versailles got greedy and the tipped pass resulted in an acrobatic interception from Jacob Rogers. Parkway put together a beautiful nine play drive to end the half with a panther score. Elijah Rich started the drive with a 21 yard pass to Felver. On the final play of the scoring drive he found a leaping Aiden Anderson for a 27 yard score as the clock read zeros. The panthers went into the half with the momentum on their side and a 21-6 score. Parkway received the ball to start the second half. After a nine play drive that was highlighted by a Felver reception that went for 43 yards, Eddie Nichols punched it across the line for another panther score. It was a new game as the score went to 21-12. As we entered the final quarter, the panthers were in good shape to get a victory. The defensive adjustments were working, they were bending a bit, but not breaking. That panther defense stood tall and shut out the tigers in the final to periods of the game, that was huge. Parkway took over with just 6 minutes left in the game. Three minutes and 15 plays later they were on the doorstep of the end zone and ready to score. But on the 16th play from scrimmage, Eli Rich was just feet from pay dirt when a huge hit jarred the ball loose and a mad scramble ensued for the rock. As a tiger grasped the ball, the panthers hearts sank. Although it would have taken a touchdown, two point conversion and a field goal to win, you never know what will happen. Versailles ran the clock out and left Rockford with a hard earned M.A.C. victory. Eli Rich had a monster night through the air with 270 yards passing. Justan Felver hailed in 5 passes for 123 yards receiving. Parkway falls to 0-4 on the season.

9.11.20 VICTORY RIPPED FROM PANTHERS LATE

It has been a struggle for both Parkway and Anna through the first half of this shortened regular season. Both squads hove a big goose egg in the wins column, but that would change on Friday night. To say that these times were a mirror image of each other would be an understatement. They each ran 55 plays in the game, Anna had 321 total yards of offense to 318 for the panthers. Parkway led the time of possession by a mere 13 seconds, passing attempts and competitions were just 1 point difference, they each had 3 touchdown passes and 1 interception. The panthers had 19 first downs to that of 17 for the host rockets. By looking at the stat sheet, you can tell it was one heck of an exciting game. Parkway jumped out in front midway through the first quarter when Gabe Schaff hauled in a Elijah Rich bullet for a touchdown. The touchdown capped a 12 play opening drive by Parkway that took 6 minutes to hit pay dirt. As we headed to the second quarter, the panthers had a 7-0 lead. But in the second period the offenses took over and had a shootout before the half. Parkway scored first and pushed their lead to 13-0. It took Parkway just two minutes and eight plays for Eddie Nichols to find the end zone. Then the rockets put together a long 13 play drive for their first score of the night, pushing the score to 13-7. But with some beautiful blocking and smooth moves, the panthers Grant Bollenbacher took the kickoff at the 12 yard line and wove his way to the house. Taking the Parkway lead to 19-7. Anna had a long return that gave them a short field, 5 plays later it was a 39 yard pass that pulled them closer to the panthers. That score made it a 19-14 game, still with Parkway in front. Parkway quickly answered back with a 9 play drive as Rich found Justan Felver deep in the corner of the end zone. Justan hauled in a perfectly thrown over the shoulder pass to increase the panthers lead to 25-14. After missing two extra points earlier in the game, the panthers went for two on this try. Brendan Etzcorn cradled the rock and bolted through the hole the line made. Pushing the Parkway advantage to 27-14 at the halftime break. Anna received the Zack Hawk kickoff to start the third quarter. After an 18 yard return, the rockets had the ball on their own 34 yard line. Then lightning struck for the rockets when they connected on a 66 yard scoring pass. In a blink of the eye, the Parkway lead had been cut in half. It was now a one possession contest. Parkway ran the ball seven consecutive plays, pounding the line of scrimmage and moving the ball down the field. Then Rich sat back in the pocket and let it fly as he was getting hit. On the receiving end was Liam Ferroggiaro catching the ball and out running the defender to the end zone. Parkway once again failed on the extra point, making the score 33-21. Parkway took that two score lead into the final quarter of play. It wasn’t until half way through the quarter when the rockets closed the gap, now with a 33-28 score. The panther offense struggled in the late minutes of the game and it would be up to the defense to preserve a victory. Anna methodically moved the ball down the field as the panthers could feel a win slipping away. Anna capped off the drive in the end zone and took a one point 34-33 advantage. With one more shot with 37 seconds left on the clock, all the panthers needed was a field goal to win. But the rockets defense, along with some overly tight pass coverage, were able to shut the panthers victory attempt down.

9.5.20 INDIANS SCORCH PARKWAY THROUGH THE AIR

The panthers were excited to be on their home field for the first time this season. But the visiting Indians left the panthers with a bad taste in their mouths, it was that of defeat. The Indians had size and speed over Parkway and it showed with the amount of big plays they rolled up. If you were to just look at the stats, The only glaring difference that you would see is in two columns of the stats sheet. That would be passing yards and the score, which Ft. Recovery did early and often on the night. The Indians defense was also very stout, holding Parkway to just 189 yards of total offense. The panthers lone score came in the second quarter of the game. Down 28-0 at that point, Senior Elijah Rich launched a rocket and it fell right into the open arms of Liam Ferroggiaro and he ran it into the end zone for a panther score. It was a 55 yard scoring play for Parkway. Clay Schmitz torched the panthers defensive backfield for 260 yards in the air. The visitors also had two receivers just shy of 100 yards receiving in the contest. The panthers definitely need to address that soft spot. Ft. recovery scored twice in the first quarter, four times in the second quarter and capped of their 43-6 victory with one more in the third period. The panthers will hit the road and head east to Anna next week. It will be a battle of winless squads and the panthers are hoping to come home with a victory.

8.29.20 SLOW START & STIFF DEFENSE STOP PANTHERS

Friday Night Football is finally back and the "boys of fall" get to play. That was the good note on Friday evening, the bad was that parkway got the loss. The panthers won the toss and deferred till the second half. St. Johns moved the ball down the field in the first period with success. But the visiting panthers were able to keep them out of the end zone until the late stages of the first quarter. The blue jays lead after the first period by a touchdown. Parkway had some success also moving the ball, but just couldn't punch it in. It was a defensive struggle for most of the first half for both teams. The panthers finally punched it in on a Liam Ferroggiaro 2 yard scamper. The extra point was blocked and we had a 7-6 score. The blue jays answered right back just before the half, to take a 14-6 advantage. Both squads traded scores in the third quarter as we went into the final period with a 21-12 score. Midway through the fourth, parkway found pay dirt to draw within a point of the blue jays. It was a nine play drive that was highlighted by Gabe Schaff hauling in a pass from Eli Rich for 28 yards. Four plays later, Brendan Etzcorn punched it in for the touchdown. But the 'jays would not be denied and quickly added on to their one point lead, pushing it to 29-21. Elijah Rich was 11/23 for 126 yards passing on the night. Sophomore Eddie Nichols had a whale of a night for the panthers. He tallied 104 yards rushing and averaged 10 yards per rush. He also had 32 yards receiving and garnered 6 tackles. The panthers will be in action next Friday at home, they will host the Ft. Recovery Indians.

8.21.20 PANTHERS WIN IN ONE & ONLY SCRIMMAGE

Due to the current climate, teams were given just one scrimmage this year. The Parkway panthers showed lots of promise for this season against the Lehman Catholic cavaliers. In the first segment of the scrimmage, parkway moved the ball and put up two scores to none for their hosts. The cavs found minimal success in the first portion, although they did catch the panthers off guard a few times. It was two quarters of game situation for the varsity squads in the second portion of the scrimmage. The offensive line opened some nice holes for Eddie Nichols and he made the most of it several times. Justan Felver overcame a few early drops, but he overcame that slow start. Elijah Rich was on target and was making good decisions in distributing the rock. Parkway flashed a bit of speed in the contest and will need that against the ever tough league competition. The panthers rolled to a 20-0 score while only allowing the cavaliers a score with under a minute on the clock. Parkway will play their first game of the season on Saturday evening the 29th at Delphos St. Johns.