Panthers start the season with romp

It didn’t take long for the Elyria Catholic football team to show people it means business in 2016. In the opening game at host Brookside on Aug. 26, the Panthers ran away with a 44-0 win.

The Panthers scored on their opening drive, thanks to a number of runs from running back Daryl Davis, which he capped off with a 5-yard score. From there, Elyria Catholic never looked back.

“Our goal was to win tonight and we were able to accomplish that,” Elyria Catholic coach Dave Stupka said. “What we wanted to is come out and compete. Our guys worked very hard over the past 11 months and specifically the last six weeks. As I told them in the team huddle, you earned all the 44 points tonight. Everybody was anxious, and a lot of guys were out here for the first time on a Friday night. We were a little tight starting off, but I thought we responded well.”

The end of the first half was a microcosm of how the night went for the Panthers. Already up, 21-0, Brookside was driving down the field with mere seconds left.

It looked like the Cardinals might get a score and gain just an ounce of momentum, but after a Brookside holding penalty, Panthers linebacker Doug Taylor recovered a fumble and took

it to the house for a 56-yard touchdown with two seconds remaining for a 28-0 halftime lead. The Cardinals juggled two starting quarterbacks between Charles Liggitt and Jonathan Hice.

“I’m proud of the defense,” Brookside coach Paul Ferguson said. “And I’m proud of the offense. Those guys never quit. Realistically, we came into halftime giving up one legitimate touchdown and it was that first drive. Then we threw a Pick-6 and had a blown coverage. Some of that is just kind of bad luck and you have to go with the punches.”

Davis was relentless on the ground all night, including 100 first half rushing yards running behind the right side of the offensive line in particular.

“That’s Austin Rofe, Devon Serrano and Jack Decker did a great job,” Stupka said of his offensive line. “Along with Andre Rodriguez and Gabe Hirsch, and Tommy Gillespie really gave us a lift tonight.”

Davis got help from an opportunistic Panthers defense. Defensive back Sam Best picked off both Brookside quarterbacks, Liggit and Jonathan Hice, and returned the former’s pass for a 29-yard touchdown to go up, 14-0, late in the first. Best nearly got two more picks in the game as well.

“I was just taking my drop, taking my read,” the senior said. “I was reacting to it and getting to the football. It means everything for us to get a Week 1 win. We haven’t gotten that in a while. It means everything to us.”

Midway through the second quarter, Panthers starting quarterback Jeff Spencer threw a deep sideline touchdown pass to wide receive Donovan Warfield for 62 yards and a 21-0 lead.

Brookside had only one first down in the opening half, while the Panthers had 159 total yards of offense.

The second half was more of the same for the Panthers. Brookside started its first drive moving the ball and came out with an attitude. But on a fourthand-2 on Elyria Catholic’s 35-yard line, the Cardinals failed to convert. That set up running back Tony LoParo rushing for 57 yards all the way to the 1-yard line, and Leighton Banjoff followed with a 1-yard TD run.

Toward the end of the quarter, Banjoff again found the back of the end zone on a 11-yard TD and Elyria Catholic led, 42-0, entering the fourth.

Stupka said pitching a shutout was important for his team. but improving moving forward will be even more important.

“Our philosophy at Elyria Catholic is we want to get a little better each day,” he