Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Pekin wins thriller!
Glick’s pick-6 gives Panthers district crown
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
DANVILLE — It’s not often that a high school football district comes down to a game as heart-pumping as Pekin’s showdown in Danville on Friday night.
The undefeated Panthers traveled to play the undefeated-in-district Bears with all the marbles up for grabs, and the game certainly lived up to the billing, resulting in an instant classic that saw Pekin win the league title with a 32-27 victory.
“You know, last week we won in overtime, and I thought ‘that was a little bit of a classic,’” said Pekin head coach Klynt Weber. “I think tonight trumped that.”
Down 27-26, the Panthers looked dead in the water after failing to capitalize on the field position given to them from Henry Adam’s clutch safety with 3:39 left to go. Pekin turned the ball over on downs and left Danville with the ball inside its own 10 yard-line with a chance to get one first down to seal the game, and the district.
On 3rd-and-8 with just over 1:30 left to go in the game and facing a Pekin team with no remaining timeouts, the Bears were one play away from either sealing the game, or at least bleeding enough time of the clock to force the Panther offense into a tough situation, but neither of those things happened.
Instead, an attempted pass to the running back down the right side of the field was jumped by Pekin senior Nolan Glick, who intercepted the ball at the 10 and scampered into the end zone for a game-changing pick-six that put the Panthers back in the lead and ignited the visiting Pekin crowd.
“We practiced all week, waiting for that back to come out of the backfield,” Glick said. “I was just ready for it. I knew they were going to try something.”
Glick’s interception return gave Pekin a 32-27 advantage, and despite a deep Danville pass connecting on the next drive, the Bears didn’t have enough magic to steal the game back, and Pekin could celebrate it’s first district title since 2014.
“The players made plays, and it was the power of human belief,” Weber said. “I just can’t say enough about the kids.”
The Panthers seemingly had control of the game right before halftime. Pekin led 17-0 after a field goal by Adam, and Danville had to heave one to the end zone from the 30-yard line as the first half expired. The Bears, however, connected on the touchdown pass, and that would be the first domino in what looked to be a historic Homecoming rally for the hometown Bears.
Danville scored on its first drive of the third quarter, then took the lead on a pick-six with 3:43 remaining in the period. Another long interception run back landed the Bears at the 2-yard line, and Danville led 27-17 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
After allowing 27-straight Danville points, Pekin turned to some trickeration to get momentum back on its side. Quarterback Riley Smith flipped the ball to Adam, who launched a halfback pass down the length of the field and into the hands of a wide-open Alijah Brock, who took it in for a 58-yard touchdown reception.
“We put that in at the beginning of the year,” said Adam. “We’ve been waiting to run the play, and it was perfect timing.”
That trick play made it 27-24 after three quarters. Pekin had a shot to take the lead with just under four minutes to go, but failed to do so. The Panthers, however, did get a lucky break when Smith’s heave to the end zone on fourth down was picked off at the 2-yard line, instead of dropping innocently to the turf for a turnover on downs. That set up Henry’s safety, which cut the advantage down to 27-26 with 3:39 showing on the clock.
Until Glick’s defensive heroics, his story was told mostly in the ground game. He ran the ball for 144 yards and a touchdown, while also catching two passes for 25 yards.
Smith threw for 141 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Brock and Lauderman coled the receiving group with 58 yards and a score each, and Adam had five catches for 54 yards.
Adam led the defense with 11 tackles. He too, had an interception.
The win brought Pekin’s record to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the district. The district title is a key steppingstone in the rise of the Panthers, which began in 2022 after an 0-8 season the year before.
Pekin will take on Columbus (3-4, 3-2) in the final regular season game this Friday night. The Panthers are locked into a playoff spot in Class A, no matter what happens.
