Fifth-ranked Pekin upset by Montezuma

PACKWOOD ? Pekin head coach Joe Donovan has been preaching the ?little things? all season long.

Those little things ended up biting the Panthers Friday against Montezuma on homecoming night in Packwood. Montezuma pulled off a 28-20 upset win over the fifth-ranked (Class A) Panthers.

?The little things really hurt us and we seemed to get complacent on third down,? said Donovan. ?We got undisciplined on defense and unraveled in the second quarter.?

The Panthers rode a familiar quick start and built a 14-0 lead after their two initial possessions. Quentin Garrels, who had another amazing night on the ground with 284 rushing yards on 33 carries, was responsible for the first two scores.

Montezuma answered with a touchdown of their own in the first quarter before taking the lead with a two-touchdown second period.

Montezuma scored another touchdown in the fourth quarter, and Garrels tacked on his third rushing touchdown of the game in the closing minutes.

Quarterback Graham Wittrock finished the game 5-of-15 passing for 35 yards. Cade Millikin made a pair of catches for 24 yards.

Defensively, Jared Bond made 12 tackles, Thomas Slaney had seven and Brody Long added six stops.

The Panthers (7-1) are at winless Southeast Warren on Friday.

?A lot can happen in these final two weeks,? added Donovan. ?If we?re going to get a wakeup call now?s the time to have one. I hope we?re all competitors enough to understand we have to win the next two games and just do the best we can.?