by Steve Bradley
Tamarac. They never had a chance.
After making the short drive down Route 7 to Tamarac High School, the Panthers took to the field last Friday to face the Tamarac Bengals. The Bengals were bringing their 0 – 2 record into the game and hoping to end the Panthers’ 52 game Section II winning streak.
Ending the streak was not to be, although they did not allow the Panthers to score on their first offensive play. But on the Panthers second play from scrimmage, at the Panther 27 yard line, quarterback Garrett Wright took the shotgun snap and handed the ball to Colby Davendonis. Davendonis took off to the outside of the left side of the line, assisted by receiver Connor McCart with his block, and then took off down the sideline for a 73 yard touchdown. At this point, less than four minutes in, the game was pretty much over.
It was a dominating performance on any scale. The Panthers put up 44 points on the Bengals by halftime, scoring six touchdowns in the first half and eight total. Davendonis rushed for 194 yards on five carries for a 38.8 yard per carry average. He scored four touchdowns. Austin Pitt gained 201 all purpose yards, 138 yards, and one of his three touchdowns, coming on kick returns. Quarterback Wright was four of six for 64 yards, with no interceptions. When the JV team took to the field for the entire second half, halfback Noah LaBarge gained 58 yards on 8 carries and had one touchdown.
The defense was tremendous. When the Bengals got down to the Panther five yard line, the defense stuffed them four times in a row, and the Bengals came away with no points. If there was any soft spot, the pass defense gave up 187 yards, 133 of those yards came on two plays. One of those was a fine defensive play gone bad. The Panther defender played the pass perfectly for an interception, then had the ball bounce out of his hands into the Bengal receiver’s hands, who went in for the only Bengal’s score of the evening. The Panthers had a second quarter safety.
Pascal Williams had eight tackles. Logan Hoyt recorded six tackles. Evan Hand was everywhere, recording six tackles, one interception and one blocked punt. Damon Dubois was eight for eight on point after touchdown kicks, each one of which could have been a 30 yard field goal. Yes, it was a dominating performance on any scale.
Davendonis was named the Max Preps Offensive Player of the Game, and Mark Hackett was awarded the Defensive Player of the Game. The Panthers now stand at 3 – 0.
The Panthers face a better team next week. They will play the Broadalbin-Perth Patriots on the HFCS field at 7 pm Friday evening. Broadalbin-Perth, a B class team, comes in with a 2 – 1 overall record.
