Mt. Pleasant mauled at Clinton

CLINTON — Friday night in Clinton was a tough one on the football field for the Mt. Pleasant Panthers.

The Panthers struggled on both sides of the ball early and the deficit was just two big to overcome as the River Kings took the district battle 49-26.

Things got out of hand quickly for the Panthers.

On the first play of the night, Clinton quarterback Addison Binnie put the River Kings on the board with a 65-yard touchdown run.

Mt. Pleasant couldn’t get anything rolling on offense on its first drive of the night, going three-and-out.

It was all but one play later and Binnie put six more points on the board with a 70-yard touchdown run.

The Panthers were able to get on the board late in the second quarter with Payton Walker punching it in from four-yards out.

For Mt. Pleasant, the damage had been done though, as Clinton held on to a 42-6 lead at the half. The River Kings scored 28 in the first and 14 in the second.

In the second half, the Panthers outscored the River Kings, 20-7, but time was not on their side.

Jacob Richtman threw a pair of touchdown passes in the second half, with five-yard and 25-yard darts to Carter Amos and Garrett Cook. Zerek Venghaus also found pay dirt on a one-yard score.

Richtman threw for 177 yards along with the two scores in the loss. Venghaus led on the ground with 73 yards and one touchdown. Through the air, Wyatt Woodsmall finished with 74 yards receiving on five catches. Cook had four catches for 56 yards. Defensively, Venghaus had a team-high 7.5 tackles.

Mt. Pleasant will wrap up the season Friday on the road at North Scott.