Panthers pounce on Mustangs for initial win

BLOOMFIELD - Pekin's high school football team took to the road Friday and got its first win of the season by blasting Davis County 42-14.

The Panthers nearly knocked off No. 10 (Class 1A) Mediapolis last week.

'Our kids felt better about their play even after the Mediapolis loss, but the key is to continue to show improvement and get refocused for an undefeated Cardinal team,” Blakely said.

Davis County used a passing attack against Pekin, but the Panthers allowed just 18 of 35 completions for 229 yards and gave up 53 yards on 16 carries.

'I thought our kids played well and are continuing to improve,” Pekin head coach Bud Blakely said. 'I was real pleased with the improvement of our line play, but we need to continue to get better in that area. Our backs cut down on turnovers and I feel like if we continue to make strides we will be in a good position going into district play. We need to continue to get better fundamentally if we want to have success in district play.

The Panthers start district play Friday when Cardinal comes to town.