Panthers make statement at Belle Plaine

BELLE PLAINE ? For a Pekin Panther football team looking for still looking for a jolt to start the 2009 season, Friday night in Belle Plaine may have been what head coach Tom Stone was looking for.

Pekin opened up a 20-0 lead behind two touchdowns from Trenton Northup and one from Hunter Maeder before withstanding a late Plainsman surge to preserve the victory ? its second straight ? and, more importantly, move to 1-0 in District 5 play.

?Belle Plaine is one of the favorites in the district and was one of the teams we needed to beat if we were going to win a district championship,? Stone said. ?It?s a tremendous win for the young kids and all of them worked hard for it. We do have some things to work on, but we?re enjoying the win for now.?

The second half surge from a Pekin opponent is becoming commonplace In 2009 both Sigourney-Keota ? a game the Panthers lost ? and WACO both put together fourth-quarter bursts.

?Hopefully we?re starting to get moving a little bit more, but the conditioning needs to improve,? said Stone. ?We had our chances to put it away and didn?t ? great teams don?t let that happen. There are things to work on, but it?s still nice to get some wins.?

The running game is one of the facets that has been picking up as of late with the trio of Maeder, Northup and Spencer Adam pounding away. As Northup and Maeder took the touchdowns, Adam led all rushers Friday night with 117 yards on 13 carries. Maeder gathered 68 yards of his own including the 41-yard touchdown rumble.

Pekin blocked a punt for the second time this season and Stone praised the play of Zach Mosbey and Josh Arendt on the defensive side of the ball ? easy to do considering Mosbey?s nose for the ball that gave him a whopping 17 tackles on the night. Northup gathered 13 tackles of his own and Austin Adam was credited with eight.

With the win, the Panthers knock off Belle Plaine ? last season?s district runner up ? and bring a heavy swing of momentum into homecoming week as winless Van Buren awaits them Friday night.