Quarterback, Evan Steimle’s perfect pass to Lane Decker in stride allowed Decker to catch and out run two defenders from 81 yards away and Steimle’s conversion kick gave EP the win.
EP came into the game fresh off a big win against Kewanee that moved them to 3-0 while Newman beat Princeton last week to set up the showdown.
The first two drives by both teams were a sign of things to come as EP used a mixture of pass and run and Newman relied on their wishbone running offense. Both teams gathered 3 first downs but then committed a turnover deep in the opponent’s territory.
On the Panthers’ second possession another 3 first downs were garnered before Steimle found Caleb Brown open across the middle for 6 points. Steimle’s extra point made it 7-0 EP with 6 minutes remaining in the half.
The Comets came right back and put a 52-yard drive together topped off with a 6-yard scoring run from Danny Welty and the conversion made it 7-7 at half time.
The second half started horribly for EP as on the third play, Comet, Ryan Alvarado broke loose at the line of scrimmage and scampered 62 yards to pay dirt. A bad kick left the score at 13-7 with 10:32 remaining in the third quarter.
The Panthers got one first down on their next drive (their only first down of the second half) and punted for the first time to Newman’s 48. Another Newman drive mostly on the ground, moved it to the Panther 14 when EP wrestled the ball away during a stop halting the drive.
EP wasn’t able to move it again and Newman took over on their 49, halfway through the fourth quarter. They advanced the ball to EPs 37 but on fourth down punted into the Panther end zone. The Panthers took over on their 20 with 2:53 left.
A run for 3 yards and then a fumble by Steimle, that he was able to retrieve, set the stage for the game winner with 1:10 left.
Newman had a couple short completions before a deep pass was picked off by Steimle securing the victory.
The balanced Panther offensive attack had Steimle rushing 12 times for 50 yards. Tristan Hovey had 11 carries for 20 yards. Steimle was 7-10 throwing the ball for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns while Decker had 4 catches for 113 yards and Brown 3 for 48 and both had a touchdown.
Newman had 13 first downs to the Panthers 7 and Newman had 5 penalties for 40 yards and EP 4 costing them 21 yards. The Panther defense was led by Caleb Reymer and John Holland with 7 tackles each while Steimle and Matthew Ballard were credited with 6 each.
Coach’s other comments included “This teams resiliency continues to amaze me. Numerous times today we looked like we were in serious trouble, but we found a way to overcome. Newman is such a fundamentally sound team, but we were able to get a couple key turnovers and escape with the win. Our offensive line did a great job of giving Evan time to find his receivers and he did a great job of getting it to them. A great team win!”
The Panthers stand at 4-0 for the first time in program history and host Orion Friday for homecoming in Prophetstown.
