Panthers look to bounce back following Week 7 loss

Sandwiched between contests against Class A District 6 title contenders, Pekin faces a Southeast Warren team that has yet to find its first win.

To suggest the Friday matchup has the makings of a trap game would be a stretch, but Panther head coach Joe Donovan insists his team isn?t about to overlook the Warhawks. Instead, he looks for his team to continue to play its hardest and jump back into the district title picture following a Week 7 loss to upstart Montezuma.

?We have to win the next two games and do the best we can,? Donovan said following last week?s loss. ?A lot can happen in these final two weeks.?

The Panthers (6-1, 4-1 District 6), who fell 28-20 on homecoming night to Montezuma, are now tied for second in District 6 behind frontrunner Montezuma. They face BGM, another one-loss team in district play, in their regular season finale Oct. 19. Montezuma, meanwhile, closes the season against BGM and Lynnville-Sully, which also is tied for second.

It has been tough sledding for Southeast Warren (0-7, 0-5), which comes into Friday?s contest having been outscored 141-7 in its last three games. The Warhawks were blanked by BGM, Montezuma and Lynnville-Sully.

?They haven?t had a real good year. They?re run oriented and they haven?t been effective at throwing it, either,? said Donovan.

The Warhawks have been held to under 1,000 total yards offense in the first seven games. Sophomore signal caller Gabe Henderson has thrown 11 interceptions to five touchdowns, and the squad?s running backs have combined for just two scores.

To compare, Pekin?s explosive offense has racked up 3,129 yards while scoring 45 total touchdowns.

The Panthers make no secret about running the ball ? their 42.1 attempts per game and 35 rushing touchdowns are evidence of that ? but the combination of a physical offensive line and Quentin Garrels? ability to hit the holes and miss tackles has led to an overwhelming amount of success. Even in last week?s loss, Garrels racked up 284 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries to up his season total to 1,464 yards and 24 scores.

Quarterback Graham Wittrock threw his first interception of the season during the final desperation drive of last week?s loss, but he still boasts a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 10-1. Wittrock has also completed an even 50 percent of his passes. Offensive weapons Petie Clubb and Cade Millikin combined for five catches last week.

?A positive with last week is the run game is still there,? the Panthers? head coach said. ?The main components of our team are still there and the kids played hard, but some fundamental things hurt us.

?It?s a good week for us to harp the fundamentals and apply them this Friday. We need to get back to playing fundamentally sound,? he added.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Southeast Warren in Liberty Center.