Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Panthers suffer 1st loss
Mt. Pleasant football team falls in battle of unbeatens
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MT. PLEASANT — A combination of early mistakes, and a razor-sharp opponent led to Mt. Pleasant’s first demise of the year when Central DeWitt visited Mapleleaf Athletic Complex on Friday night.
In a battle of 3-0 teams, it was the Sabers who had what it took for all four quarters, as Central DeWitt got out of Mt. Pleasant with a 49-27 victory.
The Panthers looked good early. Mt. Pleasant recovered a botched squib kick on the opening kickoff and nearly turned it into a touchdown, but Grayson Walker’s throw into the end zone was picked off inside the 10-yard line. The Panthers, however, would get a stop, get the ball back and score first, cashing in on a five-yard touchdown run by Griffen Jones.
Jones’ touchdown carry put the Panthers up 7-0 with 6:29 remaining, but the Sabers would find the end zone twice in the final six-and-a-half minutes of the game.
Central DeWitt quarterback Hudson Krukow ran for a 13-yard touchdown with 2:03 showing on the clock. Then, after a botched Mt. Pleasant punt attempt on the next possession, the Sabers took over inside the 15-yard line and scored on a rushing touchdown one play later, making it 14-7 before the end of the first.
Mt. Pleasant struggled to find its spark in the second quarter, and the Central DeWitt offense was just getting warmed up.
The Sabers scored first in the second quarter to bring their lead to 21-7. Jones nearly brought the ensuing kick all the way back to the end zone, but was pushed out of bounds at the 20-yard line, and that led to a missed Mt. Pleasant field goal.
Central DeWitt capitalized on the missed Panther field goal by scoring once more before the halftime buzzer, and Mt. Pleasant found itself in a 28-7 hole at the break.
“They kind of took it to us, and we didn’t tackle well,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach John Bowlin. “And we got beat over top. Those are all things that we should get better at.”
Mt. Pleasant wouldn’t get back within striking distance, but the Panthers did score three more times in the second half, twice on rushing touchdowns by Ramzy Davis, and once on a touchdown pass from Walker to Brody Clark.
Davis ran for 122 yards and two scores in the loss. Ryan Helling scampered for 49 yards, and Jones finished with 24 yards and one score.
The Central DeWitt defense held Walker to just 106 yards passing, with one touchdown and one interception. Clark finished with 57 yards and a score receiving, and Kaden Schadt had 34 yards through the air.
Colton Syfert finished the night with a team-leading 5.5 tackles on the defensive side of the ball. Jones had one fumble recovery for the only Panther takeaway.
Despite the loss, Mt. Pleasant finished the district schedule 3-1, and now the Panthers can turn their attention toward a big one this Friday night. Washington (2-2) comes into town for Mt. Pleasant’s Homecoming game, which doubles as the district opener.
“This was a great game for us to get prepared, and show us that we aren’t good enough yet,” said Bowlin. “We’ve got to work really hard, prepare like crazy, and be ready for the Demons next week.”
