Jr. Panthers dominate Mt. Ida in shut out winning fashion 34-0 for ‘Thursday Night Lights’
MAGNET COVE — For “Thursday Night Lights” junior high football action last week, the Magnet Cove Jr. Panthers shut out the Mt. Ida Jr. Lions 34-0 in 5-2A Conference competition for the Kenneth W. Hammons Stadium fans.
By displaying another overall productive performance on both sides of the football, the Jr. Panthers executed five end zone trips offensively and kept the Jr. Lions end zoneless defensively the entire 32 minute contest.
As a result, the Jr. Panthers have captured back-to-back 34-0 shutout victories to improve to 3-3 overall, 2-0 in conference.
In the first quarter, the Jr. Panthers got off to a productive start offensively by utilizing their running attack for efficient yardage. Justus Traylor exploded for a key first down rush to move Magnet Cove into Mt. Ida territory. Quarterback Cade Davis fired out of the pocket to complete a pass to receiver Hunter Browning for a reception—then brother Hayden Browning and Traylor carried the pigskin for a first down to the Mt. Ida 30-yard line. At the 5:46 mark, Hayden Browning soared into the end zone on the 30-yard touchdown run.
The PAT was good by Anthony Villezcaz and the Magnet Cove led 7-0. Then down to the 1:42 mark, the Jr. Panthers increased their lead with an electrifying 62-yard touchdown run by Traylor with PAT good from Villezcaz gave Magnet Cove a 14-0 lead to end first quarter action.
In the second quarter, the Jr. Panthers defense stood strong for key stops against Mt. Ida’s running scheme. Magnet Cove continued to make plays to move the ball inside red zone territory of Mt. Ida. Then down to the 4:24 mark, Traylor made his second trip into the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown run. The PAT was successful by Villezcaz and the Jr. Panthers maintained a 21-0 lead against Mt. Ida at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Jr. Lions held possession for almost the entire eight minutes.
The Jr. Lions started to spark by picking up first down drives to build momentum in their ground attack. Finally into Magnet Cove territory, Mt. Ida executed all the way to the 4 yard line with under a minute remaining to play in the third. A costly penalty moved Mt. Ida for a loss of yardage with 47.6 seconds left and the Jr. Panthers defense forced a turnover on downs to the goal line and Magnet Cove regained possession to finish out the third period—with a three touchdown lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Jr. Panthers defense finished out productively in the final eight minutes of play to disrupt the offensive scheme of Mt. Ida’s run game.
To put the finishing touches on an overall stellar performance for Magnet Cove, the Jr. Panthers made two more end zone trips. Matt Stone soared into the end zone on a 57-yard touchdown run —7:13 mark (28-0) and Carter Tugwell scored on a 20-yard TD run at the 3:54 mark for the 34-0 en route victory.
The Jr. Panthers will return to conference play Thursday face the Gurdon Jr. Go-Devils for big junior high contest on the gridiron in G-town.
Kickoff is set at 7 p.m., following the seventh grade contest beginning at 5:30 p.m.