Panthers sink their claws into the Bulldogs
By: Meg Kuczinski
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Licking, Ohio (WOUB) – On Friday night, the Licking Valley Panthers took on the Bloom-Carroll Bulldogs in a nail-biter for the regional quarterfinals.
Although the Bulldogs started with the ball, it was not long before Licking Valley took over. The Panthers ruled the turf and Brody Rodgers found the ball in his hands. Rodgers took the rock to the house for a 21-yard rushing touchdown, and with a two-point conversion from Trenton Markus put the Panthers at 8-0 early on.
The Bulldogs tried to answer Licking Valley, but the Panthers forced a turnover on downs. Kam Walker took this game by the reins and rushed for 28 yards to put Licking Valley in the red zone. Markus finished off the drive for the Panthers to put them up 15-0 with 2:43 left in the first quarter.
Neither team was able to find much success until early in the second quarter. Rusty Hutchinson took the handoff from Ethan Thanthanavong and found the end zone for a 65-yard rushing touchdown. Treyton McKee made the extra point to set the score at 15-7 with 10:21 left in the second quarter.
Licking Valley ran the clock for the majority of the second quarter, slowly inching their way down the field. The Bulldogs held the Panthers off for as long as possible, but Donevin Ghiloni found the end zone to make it 22-7 on the scoreboard.
But the Bulldogs had had enough; Beau Sherman took the kickoff return straight to the house for an 86-yard return at 3:32 left in the second quarter to set the score at 22-14; neither team would be able to gain much ground and ended the first half.
The third quarter opened with a Licking Valley drive. They held onto the ball until 3:05 on the clock when Kam Walker found the end zone once again for the Panthers to make it 29-17.
Bloom-Carroll would not stand for Licking Valley’s domination. After a personal foul call against the Panthers, the Bulldogs found themselves just outside the red zone. Time ran out in the third quarter and their drive continued into the fourth quarter. Beau Sherman tried to find the end zone, but Licking Valley’s defense made an ultimate stand and refused to let them score.
Neither team scored in the rest of the fourth quarter, and the Panthers won the match-up with a final score of 29-17, ending Bloom-Carroll’s season.