Don Kuhnen, AP Sports; Photos courtesy Jessie Otten
The EP Panthers travelled to Kewanee on Friday night and were hit hard early by the hosts on a beautiful night for football.
EP had the ball first and managed a couple first downs on runs by Connor Keegan and Demetree Larsen. An 8 yard punt gave Kewanee the ball on their own 45. On their first play, a fake handoff and a 53 yard pass play put the ball on the Panther 2. A quarterback keeper resulted in a score and the kick made it 7-0.
On the Panthers next possession an overthrow on a screen pass resulted in a pick 6 and 5 minutes into the game, Kewanee led 14-0.
A strong Keegan kickoff return gave the Panthers the ball on the 39 but EP couldn’t sustain a drive. Kewanee then threw 3 incomplete passes and were forced to punt from their 9. The punt sailed over the Panther receiver and a huge bounce resulted in a 78 yard punt to slow the Panther rally. The first quarter ended with EP having 5 first downs and Kewanee only one but the big plays had the hosts up.
The Boilermakers put a long drive of their own together that resulted in a 3 scoring yard run with just 2:46 left in the half to make it 21-0 at intermission.
The hosts drove into Panther territory to start the second half but were stalled when a fourth down play resulted in a sack by Panther Luke Otten to give the ball to EP. After a 3 and out, Kewanee took over on the Panther 44 and 2 plays later had a 39 yard tackle breaking touchdown run to go up 28-0.
Max Milem’s nice kickoff return gave EP the ball on the 39. A leaping catch on a pass from Jeremiah Kochevar to Larsen resulted in a 16 yard gain and the Panther only first down of the third quarter. The Panthers continued the drive and on 2 rushing first downs by Kochevar moved it to the Boiler 16. On 4th and 6 another errant throw resulted in an interception on the 5 yard line. The Boilermakers ran out the clock to seal their second victory of the season. EP falls to 0-2.
Kochevar was the Panthers leading rusher with 17 carries for 68 yards. Larsen had 11 for 40. Kochevar was 3-9 throwing the ball with 2 INTs. Sophomore Keegan Winckler led the team with 7 tackles while Otten was credited with 6.
The Panthers played the contest with 6 probable starters on the sidelines with nagging injuries. Coach Tyler Whitebread’s squad got some valuable playing time again this week but hope to have most everyone back for next weeks battle at Monmouth-Roseville.
The Sophomores host Kewanee Tuesday night at 5:30 in Erie.
