Panthers return but Mepo wins

MEDIAPOLIS - Pekin returned to the football field Saturday night after canceling its last game due to COVID quarantines and despite missing a week of practice, the Panthers held their own in a 20-3 Class 1A District 6 loss to the Bulldogs.

'They took away some things from us defensively,” Mediapolis head coach Brian Borrison said. 'They had a good plan, so we had to go to Plan B.”

Simeon Buie hit a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the first quarter to give Pekin a lead after an 11-play drive came up short. It was 13-3 for the Bulldogs at halftime.

'Our inability to finish drives did not change all night,” Pekin head coach Bud Blakely said. 'Our guys got off the ball well, but we didn't handle adjustments Mepo was making.”

A look at the stats shows Pekin was just a couple plays away from winning. First downs were 15 for each team, Yards rushing was 240-243 while passing was 21-15 as the Panthers totaled 261 to Mepo's 258. Penalties were six each and time of possession was a minute difference.

Having a week off contributes to being healthy but a coach doesn't want his team to sit out for any time in the middle of the season, especially when the gauntlet of Mediapolis and Sigourney-Keota is looming.

'It is not the ideal recipe for success but I was proud because as a coach, you never know how high school kids are going to handle things,” Blakely said. 'Our backs were against the wall going into this and we handled it.”

Mepo couldn't handle Pekin's Michael Jones, who rolled up 153 yards on 22 carries. Mason Juhl gained 38 yards on five carries with Cael Baker (seven for 18), Colton Comstock (four for 12), Kevin Rohr (four for 12), and Justice Kirkbride (three for nine) all racking up yards. Baker caught two of Comstock's passes.

'With the state of mind we were in after the Belle Plaine game (a 32-0 loss), we just took the approach to take a step away from the game and make sure we get healthy, get energized and refocused and I think it paid off for us because the kids did a great job,” Blakely said.

'Our kids kept going back at it.”

Contributing to the lack of practice was an unknown situation.

'It was a waiting game dealing with county health and different people and the list seem to grow as things progressed,” Blakely said. 'We did not know how to handle it at first.”

Borrison said the Panthers handled things well. 'You could tell they were excited to play, They came out and played hard.”