The Panther football team took an early lead Friday night and rolled to a 47-0 win over Three Forks there. JHS is now 3-0 on the season and will face Colum- bus this Friday on the JHS football field at 7:00 p.m.
Three Forks won the coin toss and elected to kick to the Panthers to start the game, a short kick that went to Hayden Guisti who returned it to the 37. From there the Panthers wasted no time get- ting on the scoreboard. Nate Brunett dodged several defenders on his way to the 10, Josh Eckmann ran to the 3 on third and goal, and Brunett finished the drive by running into the end zone. A PAT by Mead Blake made it 7-0 with 9:15 left in the first quarter.
The Wolves got a little help from the Panthers on their first possession when, on fourth and one, the Panthers jumped offsides and to give Three Forks a first down. That was about the only help they would get, though. Faced with another fourth down the Wolves set up for a punt, faked and put up a pass that failed, allowing the Panthers to take over on the 33. An Eckmann pass to Blake, aided by a Wolves penalty, put the ball on the 19. From there, Guisti and Brunett took turns carrying the ball. Guisti ran to the 15, Brunett to the 13, Guisti to the 5 and Brunett into the end zone. After Blake added another good PAT, the score stood at 14-0, Panthers, with more than four and a half minutes still in the first quarter. As they would all night, the Panther defense gave the Wolves offense fits.
A hard tackle by Jacob Travis put the Wolves in another loss setting and on fourth down they elected to go for the first again. Again they failed to elude the Panther defense. Every time the Wolves tried to advance, either the Panthers backed them up or they cost themselves yardage. A Panther sack of the Three Forks QB by Drake Schake set the ball at third and 30 for the Wolves, and then a false start backed them up to third and 35. The first quarter ended with the Panthers up 14-0. The Panthers continued to dominate in the second quarter. Guisti ran in for a TD paired with a Blake PAT, an Eckmann pass to Derek Nygaard set the Panthers up for another score as Brunett crossed the line to complete the drive, and one more touchdown set the score at 34-0, Panthers, at the half.
It seemed the Panthers were humming like a well-oiled machine as many individual athletes contributed to the success. Brett Hale and Ian Lindsay came up with some great tackles for loss and the subs got to see some quality time on the field. Peyton Loveridge put some convincing tackles on the Wolves, and sophomore Jaxson Yanzick came on strong as well, earning notice on defense and running in a TD in the fourth quarter. Fellow sophomore Tadan Hansen put the final Panther tally on the board when he picked up a Wolves fumble and ran in for a touchdown that cemented the score at 47-0.
Fans will get a chance to see the undefeated Panther football team at home Friday when they host the Columbus Cougars at 7 p.m.
