Brandon Eagles Fall 59-21 to Panthers

An insane first quarter that saw 31 points scored — 23 of them in just five minutes — set the table for the Plant Panthers Oct. 14 upset of the Brandon High Eagles at home.

The Panthers did it through the air and on special teams. Senior quarterback James Few was seven of 14 for 190 yards and three touchdowns. Even junior quarterback Aaron Banks was seven of eight with 67 yards and a touchdown en route to a 59-21 victory. Banks also broke a 50-yard run to set up a Panther score. The special teams played lights out, scoring two touchdowns, blocking a punt for a safety and stoning every kick return from the Eagles for little to no gain. Sophomore defensive back Jake Buxton had a couple great stops on kick coverage.

“They(special teams) started the game with a huge return, blocked a punt, they set the tone from the start,” said head coach Robert Weiner. “They’ve become a threat on every play and I credit Matty Walker for it.”

However, the Eagles refused to go away and got some gritty performances from their two horses. Senior running back gained 120 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns and sophomore running back Cyrus Dooley gained 70 yards on 14 hard-fought carries with TD. Even against the stingy Panther defense that kept stacking the box with eight or nine players, the Eagles rushed for 280 yards as a team.

“Number 40(Dooley) is a great back and that number six(Garner) is fast as heck,” said Weiner.

Garner had a major collision with senior defensive end Patrick Wright in the first half. It stunned both of them but neither gave ground.

“They are great off the ball, tough to beat,” said Wright.

Dooley took the load in the second half and battered the Panther defense.

“I wanted to show everyone who I was tonight,” said Dooley.

The first quarter was full of fireworks. After a couple of great runs by Garner, the Eagles closed it to 8-7 but Plant would erupt at the five minute mark of the first quarter for a sophomore receiver Austin Roberts ran the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown. The Panther defense held Brandon to three and out. On fourth down, the Panthers went for the block and blocked it out of the back of the endzone for a safety. The Eagles kicked off after the safety and senior receiver returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. 16 points in the blink of an eye would punch out most teams for the rest of the night.

And it punched Brandon out.

But they never once played like they were out of it.

They got their third touchdown behind a good push from the offensive line and dive from Garner. That closed the gap to 46-21 Plant but that was as close as it would come. The Panthers added two late touchdowns and the game was a wrap.

Summary:

First quarter:

• Crawford scores on a 40 yard touchdown catch and run. Senior linebacker Tate Rodgers adds the two-point conversion. 8-0 Plant.

• Garner runs for 74 yards, the 11 yards and a touchdown. Extra point makes it 8-7 Plant.

• Roberts takes kickoff 70 yards for the touchdown. Extra point is good. 15-7 Plant.

• Panthers block an Eagle punt out of the endzone for a safety. 17-7 Plant.

• Aikens takes that kickoff to the house from 65 yards out. Extra point makes it 24-7.

Second Quarter:

• Crawford makes two significant defensive plays, stopping Dooley on what would have been a huge gain and catching defensive back D’Andre Franklin after a 60 yard gain to save a touchdown.

• Junior receiver Dereck Mann hauls in a eight-yard pass from Few for a touchdown. Missed extra point makes it 30-7 Panthers.

• Dooley steamrolls senior defensive back John Holmes for a ten-yard touchdown run. The two point conversion is good. 30-15 Panthers.

• Holmes makes up for it by recovering the onside kick

• Again Mann hauls in a Few touchdown pass, this one from 15 yards out. Missed extra point makes it 36-15

• Senior safety David Lerom makes a shoestring tackle on Garner that saves a touchdown.

Third Quarter:

• The Panthers hit a 22-yard field goal from senior kicker Grant Van Aman to make it 39-15.

• Banks hits a 50-yard run to set up a senior running back Justin Watts touchdown run. Extra point makes it 46-15 Plant.

Fourt Quarter:

• Eagles get a 20-yard run by senior full back Brandon Buchmeier that sets up a short Garner touchdown, where he runs over Holmes again. Two-point conversion fails 46-21 Plant.

• Again, Holmes redeems himself by smothering the onside kick attempt.

• A fourth down conversion by junior running back Wes Bullock keeps a drive alive that results in an Banks pass to senior receiver Daniel Casseli. The point after is good 53-21 Panthers.

• Junior quarterback Kyle Groh comes in and marches the Panthers down the field. It culminates in a Panther touchdown. 59-21 final.