Panthers power past the Bears

When the Bears and Panthers took the field in Mtn. Grove Friday night, the Bears knew they had their work cut out for them, despite the Panthers’ deceptive 0-3 record, and indeed, they quickly found themselves in an underdog position.

 

The Panthers had a lot going for them – homecoming week emotion, a spectacularly refurbished stadium, new head coach, Dan Swofford, whose tenure in Ava was legendary, and players large in size, number, and athleticism.  The Bears played their hearts out, but the weapons of the Panthers proved too much to overcome.

 

Willow Springs attempted to get their offense rolling, leaning heavily on the skills of running back, Kayden Woolsey, and trying to burn as much clock as possible.  The first quarter ended with the score 7-0, MG.

Mtn. Grove moved the ball mostly on the ground, using Curtis and QB Estep to gain ground and racked up three more touchdowns, making the halftime score 28-0.

 

After halftime, the Panthers scored again and later tacked on a safety as their defense pinned the Bears back in their own endzone. 37-0 MG.

 

In the middle of the third, the Bears had a chance to turn the tide with a fumble recovery and 12-yard return by Aiden Messex but fumbled it back to the Panthers on the very next play.  Willow had another opportunity to score in the fourth with a huge run by Woolsey, getting into the red zone for the first time in the game.  The drive ended in disappointment as a pass to the endzone was picked off.

 

Bears’ defense fought hard the entire game with some impressive plays coming from Messex, John Baugh, Tucker Bryan, Brody Schmedeke, Dane Flynn, and several others.

 

With the turbo clock running, the Bears made a push in the final minutes of the game, when Caden Lee connected with Baugh, who picked up significant yardage, but time ran out before the Bears could complete the drive.  The final score was 37-0, Mtn. Grove.

 

Coach Schwalm commented after the game, “They have a lot of high-power weapons on their offense.  Little mistakes make a big difference when you play a team like this. We’ll go back to the drawing board this week and prepare to face another tough team next week.”

 

The Bears will be a home against the Liberty Eagles Friday night.