But boy did things change in the second half as the Panthers took advantage of some turnovers to claim a 27-7 conference win.
It was a beautiful night for football and a full moon came out just about the time EP started their comeback on the Trojans artificial turf.
Mendota’s talented sophomore quarterback, Quinn Eddy had his way in the first half as he completed 13 of 18 passes for 149 yards but he did have some interceptions that stopped potential scoring drives. Panther, Evan Steimle picked off one midway through the second quarter and returned it to midfield. Lane Decker intercepted another in the end zone with 3 minutes left in the half. Mendota got the ball back and drove to the Panther 6 where they faked a field goal and Decker picked off another one to end the half.
The opening drive of the second half saw the Panthers move 56 yards on 9 plays with two nice first down completions from Steimle to sophomore, Caleb Brown. Tristan Hovey broke a couple tackles and took it to the one, before Steimle snuck it in putting EP on the board. Steimle’s conversion kick made it 7-7 with 5:28 left in the third.
Decker intercepted his third pass on Mendota’s first play and returned it 20 yards for the touchdown and the conversion had EP up 14-7 just like that.
Mendota ran two plays the next drive and then threw a pass that Hovey made a leaping interception of and returned it to the Trojan 13. Steimle hit Brown on a swing pass and a nice juke of the defender allowed Caleb to find the end zone. After Steimle’s kick the Panthers led 21-7 near the end of the third period.
The fourth quarter started with EP having possession on Mendota’s 46 and after 3 plays, EP’s Justin Pierceson punted to the one yard line. Two big defensive plays by Hovey and an incomplete pass forced a Trojan punt and EP took over on the 31 yard line. After a first down, Steimle connected with Decker in the right corner of the end zone for 6 more. It was 27-7 with 4 minutes remaining.
Another interception by EP, this one by Noah Berk finished the contest.
Head coach Tyler Whitebread was thrilled his team woke up when they did. “It was a tale of two halves. Mendota had us off balance in the first half and we made some adjustments that led to multiple interceptions. Their defense was fast and physical all night. Our offense took advantage by passing the ball to Brown and Decker and I was proud of our response in the second half.”
Hovey had 11 rushes for 53 yards while Steimle had 16 for 34 and one TD. Steimle was 5-10 passing for 72 yards all coming in the second half. Strangley, Mendota had 13 first downs while EP only had 6.
EP had three fumbled snaps but recovered them all for losses. Mendota had 2 lost fumbles and 6 interceptions which proved to be the game breakers.
The 2-0 Panthers return to Prophetstown Friday night for a battle with Kewanee at 7pm.
