Panthers tripped up at Tipton

TIPTON - It wasn't a fun night for the Mt. Pleasant run defense on Friday night. The Panthers gave up 470 rushing yards in a 47-28 loss to Tipton, Mt. Pleasant's first defeat of the year.

The Panthers spotted the Tigers 21-straight points to begin the game. Tipton scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, one of which was a 75-yard run by quarterback Peyton Elijah. The Tigers scored a third touchdown on the first play of the second quarter and it was 21-0.

The Panthers scored their first touchdown with 7:21 left in the second quarter, capitalizing on a fumbled punt return by Tipton and punching it in with a five-yard score by Isaiah Albright. After a Mt. Pleasant interception, the Panthers scored on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Jack Johnson to Avery Scanderidge, which cut the lead to 21-14 just before halftime.

Early in the third quarter, Mt. Pleasant finally tied the game back up. Brevin Wilson caught a long touchdown pass and Brady Hall's extra point made it 21-21. Tipton would outscore Mt. Pleasant 26-7 from that point forward.

The Tigers scored two more times in the third quarter, bringing the score to 35-21, but with 2:22 left in the third, Mt. Pleasant scored its final TD of the day. Johnson hit Wilson on a 68-yard touchdown pass, Mt. Pleasant's biggest score of the night.

The Tigers scored twice in the fourth quarter. Elijah scampered in for his third rushing touchdown of the day and running back Levi Daniels scored his fourth.

Johnson went 11-for-26 for 231 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also led Mt. Pleasant on the ground, running for 49 yards.

Wilson had 93 yards and two scores on just three catches, averaging 31 yards-per-catch on the day. Chase Williamson caught four passes for 71 yards. Scanderidge had three catches for 45 yards and a score, and Brennen Bender caught one pass for 22 yards.

Johnson also led the team defensively, finishing the night with seven tackles. Klayton Kleinkopf was second on the team with 7.5 tackles.

Despite a tough night stopping the run, the Panthers did a great job at disrupting Tipton's passing game. They Tigers completed just two passes on the night and Mt. Pleasant picked off two passes, one from Wilson and one from Dylon Hagans.

Williamson did have a nice night in the kick-return game, going for 197 yards on eight returns.

The Panthers are now 1-1 overall. They'll have their first game against a district opponent this week when they head to Fairfield.