That start and a couple late defensive stops helped the Panthers defeat the Monmouth-Roseville Titans 24-22 in front of a big crowd at Mosher Field.
It was an early season showdown as EP has 12 starters returning from last years playoff team and the Titans are 2-time defending conference champs.
Head coach Tyler Whitebread expected a smash mouth football game and the wet field contributed to that, as numerous snaps on both sides were bobbled throughout the night.
The Panthers weren’t successful on the kick following Decker’s return and M-R started their opening drive on their 38. After a couple first downs, the Titan’s Lars Burgren broke loose for a 35-yard touchdown run and the conversion run gave the visitors an 8-6 lead just 3 minutes into the game.
EP, who has their offensive line in tact from last year, got their run game going on the next possession. A nine minute drive with 5 first downs was capped off with senior Tristan Hovey’s 6-yard run to give the hosts a 12-8 lead after one quarter.
The Titans rushing attack continued to do well as they moved the ball deep into EP territory but on fourth down from the Panther 6, a fumbled snap stalled their drive.
The ensuing Panther possession was stopped after four plays giving M-R the ball and they put another scoring drive together resulting in six points on a 3-yard run with :37 left in the half. The 2-point conversion made it 16-12 but the Panthers weren’t done before halftime.
Quarterback, Evan Steimle found Decker open across the middle and the junior turned it into a 63-yard score making it 18-16 EP at the intermission.
Both squads moved the ball on the ground during the third quarter but neither team scored.
A Titan drive opening the fourth was stopped on a 4th and 2 play by Derek Naftzger and Hovey on the Panther 27 yard line.
EP mixed a couple of passes with their ground game and moved the ball to M-R’s 29 yard line. Steimle connected with sophomore Caleb Brown who out fought the Titan defender to give EP a 24-16 lead with 5 minutes remaining.
Evan Steimle’s line drive kickoff was downed at the 2 yard line. The Titans, who had only attempted two unsuccessful passes all night, had a receiver get behind the Panther secondary and scored the 98-yard touchdown. The tying 2-point conversion pass was incomplete leaving EP up 24-22 with 4:37 remaining.
The following onside kick went out of bounds giving EP the ball on the 45 yard line. A 15-yard reception by Decker gave EP one first down but a 4th down interception at the seven gave M-R one last shot with 1:07 remaining and no time outs.
After a short completion and a 5 yard scramble, the game ended with a Naftzger sack of the quarterback.
Coach Whitebread was glad to escape the wild night with the W. “We found a way. We made mistakes and found a way to overcome. M-R is a heck of a team and they didn’t go quietly. Our offensive line played their butts off, special teams scored a TD, and the defense had a couple big stops on 4th down. It was a big team win.”
Hovey had 20 carries for 102 yards while Steimle added 17 for 67 including 3 big losses as snaps went over his head. Steimle was 5-6 passing for 131 yards and the 2 big TDs to Decker and Brown. Hovey was credited with 6 tackles while Nafzger, Brown, and Caleb Reymer had 5 each.
The Panthers travel to Mendota next Friday for a 7 PM battle with the Trojans.
