Wittrock leads Pekin past Savage Cobras

SIGOURNEY ? After his team lost both games to Sigourney-Keota in his first two seasons as Pekin?s starting quarterback, senior Graham Wittrock was determined to end the Panthers? four-game losing streak in the ?Backyard Brawl? rivalry.

Wittrock made a number of plays ? but with his legs, not his arm ? to lead No. 10 Pekin to a 25-13 win at Sigourney-Keota on Friday night, giving the Panthers their first win over the Savage Cobras since 1997.

?It?s awesome to come in here and get a win,? Wittrock said. ?I know my sophomore year and junior year we lost both of those, and I just wanted to come back here and finally get some redemption. I wanted to get some Pekin pride going again and get the fans excited.?

While tailback Quentin Garrels, who rushed for 1,486 yards and 19 touchdowns last season to earn second team all-state honors, may be the featured back in Pekin?s offense, on Friday night it was the Panthers? senior quarterback who made several key plays running the football.

?I talked to Graham before we left tonight about how he was going to have to make plays with his legs,? Pekin head coach Joe Donovan said. ?I thought he did an excellent job at that, especially when we needed it.?

After Sigourney-Keota went three-and-out on its first possession of the game, Wittrock capped a drive with a 9-yard touchdown run to put the Panthers up 6-0.

Pekin got the ball right back in Savage Cobra territory when junior Brody Long leaped up to block a punt, which defected out of bounds. Two plays later, Garrels ran for a 7-yard touchdown to put the Panthers ahead 13-0.

Pekin junior Trenton Conger recovered a fumble at the Sigourney-Keota 22-yard line, and two plays later Wittrock ran for a 27-yard touchdown.

?All the linebackers went back on our pass play, so I just took it in,? Wittrock said.

Wittrock?s second touchdown run of the game put Pekin up 19-0 with just under two minutes left in the first quarter.

?I thought we could do that,? Donovan said. ?We?re an explosive team. We just got off to a good start, and that?s what we wanted.?

On the other hand, Sigourney-Keota head coach Jared Jensen said his team wasn?t ready for the intensity that Pekin came with early in the Backyard Brawl.

?[A brawl is] exactly what it was, and we didn?t come ready for it,? he said. ?Maybe some of our guys took for granted that we won the last four years. In the first half we just kind of let them take advantage of everything. They were dominating the line of scrimmage. Pekin came ready to roll, and we just got dominated in the first half. Plain and simple.?

But the Savage Cobras (1-1) rallied, as junior Luke Lyle threw touchdown passes to junior Derek Berg and freshman Peyton Crawford to trim the Panthers? lead to 19-13 late in the third quarter.

?We just told them, ?You guys have to make plays,?? Jensen said. ?The guys dug down.?

But just when it looked as if the Savage Cobras might rally to win their fifth-straight game in the Backyard Brawl rivalry, as they did last year, Wittrock and the Panthers came through with some crucial plays to hold on for the win.

Leading 19-13 and trying to keep the clock running, Pekin (2-0) faced a fourth-and-4 from the Sigourney-Keota 25-yard line. Wittrock kept the football and picked up six yards to keep the drive alive. Then, facing a fourth-and-5 from the Savage Cobra 14-yard line, Wittrock ran for nine yards to set up Garrels? 3-yard game-clinching touchdown run.

?I knew I just had to get past the first down [marker],? Wittrock said. ?I didn?t care how. I just had to get it.?

Garrels finished with 182 yards rushing on 33 carries, and Wittrock added 50 yards on 10 attempts.

?That?s the first time I?ve gotten that many carries in a while,? Wittrock said.

And he made some key plays at key times.

?This is his third year as starting quarterback, and he made some heady plays,? Donovan said.

Pekin 19 0 0 6 ? 25

S-K 0 6 7 0 ? 13

P ? Graham Wittrock 9 run (kick failed).

P ? Quentin Garrels 7 run (Bryan Brain kick).

P ? Wittrock 27 run (kick failed).

SK ? Derek Berg 16 pass from Luke Lyle (kick failed).

SK ? Peyton Crawford 17 pass from Lyle (Alex Stuhr kick).

P ? Garrels 3 run (2-point failed).

Individual statistics

Rushing ? Pekin: Garrels 33-182, Wittrock 10-50, Petie Clubb 5-8. Sigourney-Keota: Berg 10-76, Kolton Greiner 11-69, Cole Streigle 11-45, Lyle 6-34, Chase Tremmel 1-5, Crawford 1-(-8).

Passing ? Pekin: Wittrock 4-10-0-71. Sigourney-Keota: Lyle 5-9-1-62, Blaine Gretter 0-1-0-0.

Receiving ? Pekin: Clubb 3-43, Cade Millikin 1-38. Sigourney-Keota: Jackson Davis 1-22, Crawford 1-17, Berg 1-16, Greiner 1-4, Kyle Ferree 1-3.

Defense ? Sigourney-Keota: Streigle 5 solo, 4 assists; Crawford 4 solo, 3 assists; Tucker Fowler 2 solo, 4 assists; Lyle 3 solo, 2 assists, 1 fumble recovery; Nate Owen 1 solo, 4 assists.