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Washington Evening Journal
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White, Panthers spoil FM Homecoming
Mt. Pleasant’s 30-yard field goal busts Bloodhounds at the buzzer
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FORT MADISON — The Fort Madison football team was just seconds away from celebrating Homecoming night with its first win of the season on Friday night, but the foot of Mt. Pleasant’s Dylan White had other plans.
White, who already walked off Fairfield with an extra point earlier this season, drilled a 30-yard field goal as time expired at the end of Friday’s road showdown, and that sent Mt. Pleasant to a nail-biting 16-14 win.
White, who is in his first year playing football after standing out for the Panther soccer team in spring, watched in anticipation as Mt. Pleasant drove down the field from inside its own 20-yard line into field goal range in the final 2 minutes, 39 seconds.
“(Coach) just said be ready and he believes in me,” White told the Hawkeye newspaper after the game.
Mt. Pleasant’s Payton Walker started the drive with a 25-yard run. The Panthers had to convert on fourth down with just over one minute remaining when Zach Newton hit Avin Truong behind the sticks, and the rest was up to White, who wouldn’t let nerves overtake him.
“I'm cold as ice,” White said.
The kick played a crucial part in keeping Mt. Pleasant’s playoff hopes alive. A loss in Fort Madison would have ended any hope of a postseason.
The Panthers had been down 14-7 midway through the fourth quarter when William Birdsell blocked a punt, leading to a 30-yard touchdown pass from Newton to Merrick Lamm with 5:17 remaining. The extra point was blocked, however, to keep Mt. Pleasant down 14-13 until the winning kick at the buzzer.
Newton threw for 130 yards and a touchdown, while also getting picked off twice. He also ran for 85 yards.
Ramzy Davis scampered for 66 yards and a touchdown during the win. Walker rushed for 50 yards.
Lamm’s 59 yards receiving, along with his touchdown, led the Panther pass-catchers. Avin Truong had three catches for 32 yards. Brody Clark caught one pass, for 24 yards, and Walker caught two passes for 24.
Walker led the defense with seven tackles. Keagen Heaton had the defense’s only takeaway, with a fumble recovery.
The win put Mt. Pleasant at 4-4 overall and 2-2 in district play. The Panthers need to beat Davenport Assumption this week to have any chance at a playoff spot. Assumption is 3-1 in the district, and a win would put the two teams in a tie for second, which would include Washington if the Demons also win.
If a three-way tie happens, the 17-point tiebreaker would be put into effect. Assumption would likely get the tiebreaker either way, but both the Panthers and Demons would be in play for an at-large bid.
