Don Kuhnen, AP Sports
The always tough Newman Comets came to Prophetstown Friday night and handed EP their first loss of the season in dominating fashion 41-13. The Comet running game could not be stopped in the second half as the visitors scored every time they had the ball on a beautiful night for high school football.
A huge crowd (bolstered by halftime young dancers and the announcement of future Panther football players) was in attendance for the Three Rivers (Rock) battle.
Connor Keegan got the Panthers off to a great start on he took the opening kickoff on the run and scampered 58 yards to the Comet 22. Unfortunately, the Panthers weren’t able to capitalize and an incomplete pass on fourth down turned it over to Newman. After a Comet 3 and out, EP took over on their own 34. On third down a Panther pass was intercepted but on the return, Demetree Larsen wrestled the ball away giving EP a first down on the 38. Both teams again weren’t able to garner first downs and the first quarter ended with no score.
On the second play of the second quarter, Panther quarterback Keegan Winckler found speedster Keegan open behind the Comet defense for a nice 48-yard touchdown. Evan Steimle’s kick was good and EP led 7-0. A good tackle by Braedyn Frank on the ensuing kickoff gave Newman possession on their own 38. The Comets were able to mix multiple runs with one 15-yard pass completion and moved the ball efficiently scoring on a 6 yard run. The kick was no good and EP led 7-6 with 5:57 remaining in the half.
After an EP punt, Newman took over on the EP 45 and in three plays scored on a 26-yard run to take the lead 14-7 after the conversion run, which is how the first half ended.
The second half was all the Newman Comets of old as they combined a solid defense with a high powered rushing attack to completely dismantle the hosts. Newman scored 21 unanswered points to lead 35-7 entering the final 12 minutes.
An EP turnover led to one more score making it 41-7 with 9 minutes left in the contest. A nice 33 yard completion from Winckler to Max Milem and a couple strong runs from Tristan Hovey got EP close to scoring and Dante Pels capped the drive with a 3-yard plunge making the final score 41-13.
Newman ended the night with 248 yards rushing and 58 yards passing to control the contest. EP was able to gain just 104 and 82 on the night.
The 2-1 Panthers return to action Friday night as they travel to highly rated Rockridge for a conference battle.
