What a rush; Panthers’ 257 yards on ground fuel win

Posted 10/7/14

PHS senior quarterback Carter Baxter threw just eight passes against the Braves, giving his arm a bit of rest while joining four other Panthers who rushed for 31 yards or more on the night.

“It doesn’t always have to be me, it doesn’t …

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What a rush; Panthers’ 257 yards on ground fuel win

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The Powell High School football team sent an important message Friday night: If the Panthers can’t beat you through the air, they’ll beat you with their feet.

One week after racking up 311 passing yards, PHS turned to its running game for 257 yards en route to a 27-7 victory over visiting 3A West Conference foe Star Valley.

PHS senior quarterback Carter Baxter threw just eight passes against the Braves, giving his arm a bit of rest while joining four other Panthers who rushed for 31 yards or more on the night.

“It doesn’t always have to be me, it doesn’t always have to be the passing game that can get it done for us,” Baxter said. “We have a lot of great players on this team that can make a difference and I think we showed that tonight.”

It became clear the rushing game would be effective for PHS (4-1, 2-0) two plays in to the game’s opening drive. After senior running backs Ryan Ferro and Ty Herd rushed for back-to-back 6-yard gains, eight of the next 10 Panthers plays went to the ground.

Sophomore TJ Abraham had a burst of 9 yards, senior wide receiver Kalei Smith took a fake punt 29 yards to keep the drive alive and Ferro added another carry of 13 to get to the Star Valley 2-yard line. The Panthers jumped ahead for good when Baxter fumbled the ball into the end zone, where Abraham quickly fell on it for a score.

“We practice that play all the time in practice,” Abraham said. “I was smashed in the pile at the goal line, but once I saw the ball it was just instincts. I fell on it and cradled it in the fetal position.”

The PHS defense then forced Star Valley (0-5, 0-2) to punt on its first drive of the game, and the Panthers continued where they left off.

“We knew based on what Star Valley might throw at us defensively that passing may be tough for us,” PHS interim head coach Chanler Buck said. “So we took it as an opportunity to establish our running game and it worked out for several kids tonight.”

On the Panthers’ next series, Baxter, Ferro and Herd took turns marching their team 81 yards downfield. Herd reeled off runs of 6, 5 18, and 8, collecting 37 of his 61 total yards (17 carries) during the drive.

His last carry of the possession put PHS at the Braves’ 2, where Baxter held on to the football this time for a 2-yard touchdown dive just before the second quarter.

“I guess I had to get one tonight,” Baxter quipped about his touchdown. “But really, other guys deserve more credit than me for this one.”

One of those “guys” deserving of credit was senior kicker Luccho Maurizi. The 139-pound Argentina native, who was brand new to football coming into the season, connected on a 33-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining in the first half. He also finished the PHS scoring with a 38-yarder with 3:34 left in the game.

Abraham, who carried the ball four times for 55 yards, came up big for the Panthers again late in the third quarter. On second down and 8 from the Star Valley 44, Abraham ran into a host of linemen before cutting up and into the open field for an untouched score and a 24-0 Panther cushion.

The speedy youngster continues to make plays when given the opportunity this season.

“I just try to work as hard as possible for when my number is called,” Abraham said. “We have guys like Ferro and Herd who are great and really carry our running game, but when coach Buck gives me the ball I’m just trying as hard as I can to make an impact.”

PHS just missed completing the shutout when the Braves’ Jessie Sanders (101 rushing yards, 35 receiving), finished his team’s 76-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown dive. Star Valley quarterback Reese Hiibel finished 9-of-20 passing for 123 yards. Lorenzo Merino caught three of those passes for a team-high 43 yards.

Ferro led the Panthers with 68 rushing yards on 14 carries, Smith collected 41 on three and Baxter picked up 31 on nine touches. PHS out-gained its foe 284-239.

“We have a couple of guys on this team that can really grind it out on the ground, and sometimes that’s what you have to do,” Buck added. “Having Ryan back tonight (from a concussion last week) really helped, and Ty continues to run with some nastiness. Then you have a young kid like TJ Abraham stepping up big for us. When everyone gets a chance to contribute good things happen.”

Having already played three of its five contests on the road, the Panthers will travel to Worland (2-3, 0-2) on Friday before back-to-back home match-ups against currently undefeated Jackson Hole and Cody (4-1, 2-0) to finish their regular season slate.

“Our schedule definitely gets interesting over these next three weeks, and I think it gives us an opportunity to step up and show some people what we can do,” Buck said. “No one is going to take it easy on us the rest of the way and we’re going to prepare our kids for that.”

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