Defense powers Panthers to first win

Brookwood’s Jack Hansen races to the outside for a big gain on the Falcons’ second play from scrimmage in the first quarter of Friday’s game. (Nate Beier photo | gx3media.smugmug.com)

By NATE BEIER | For the County Line

The offense scored enough points, but it was the defense that played big for Royall and helped the team lock up a 14-6 homecoming win Friday.

The defensive effort was evident early on, when the special teams unit swarmed around Brookwood’s Jack Hansen as he caught the opening kickoff for a short 3-yard gain. On the ensuing series, the Panthers forced a fumble and took over on offense.

Despite being deep in Falcon territory, the Panthers failed to take the lead and turned the ball over on downs.

The two teams battled until later through the quarter, when Royall’s Trenton Pasch picked off Jaden Havlik along the sideline and returned the ball a few yards to set the home team up with good field position yet again. That interception helped set up a Josh Murray pass to Michael Salamonski, which he ran in for the first touchdown of the night to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead. The play covered 34 yards, but the team couldn’t convert the 2 points.

The Royall defense went to work again, holding Brookwood to manageable gains for the next two quarters.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, Brookwood put together a drive that resulted in a 7-yard scoring pass from Havlik to Isaiah Sletten to tie the game at 6 a piece.

The point-after-attempt then became the crucial play of the night, as Jack Hansen’s kick went wide of the upright, leaving the score tied.

It was third and 11 on the ensuing series for Royall when Murray hit Austin Johnson with a short screen pass in an effort to give the punt team a little extra room to work. Instead, Johnson carved his way through the Falcon secondary and went 61 yards for the score to break the tie with just more than seven minutes left. Murray’s pass to Pasch on the 2-point conversion try was good and put the Panthers in a position to defend for the win.

The Falcons threatened late in the game, but a key sack for a loss of about 10 yards on a third down around the 30-yard mark by Mark Preuss helped quell any momentum Brookwood had built, and allowed Royall to notch its first win of the year.

“It was a relief,” said head coach Rick Steffen. “No one wants to go 0-9.”

Steffen said that he thought that Hansen’s missed extra point was the key to the game, as his Panthers stayed confident as they remained tied versus being behind by 1 at that juncture in the game.

He also admitted that he felt good coming into the game, as his team seemed to have a very focused week of practice despite the distractions of homecoming week.

“I give all the credit to our seniors. They just stayed focused all week.”

The focus showed in the stat line as well.

Senior quarterback Murray finished 7-17 for 131 yards, 2 touchdowns and one interception in the win. Johnson was the team’s leading receiver with 62 yards on two catches, and Salamonski pulled in a pair of passes for 39 yards. Pasch made his way back into the lineup after being sidelined for several weeks and led the way on the ground with 52 yards on nine carries.

Defensively, Preuss, also a senior, led the way with 15 tackles on the night.

The Brookwood offense seemed to have a good night, but just couldn’t convert drives to points. As a team, the Falcons rushed for 220 yards. However, the Falcons had trouble holding onto the ball early on. Brookwood fumbled four times, losing two, all in the first half. Havlik also threw two picks, the first to Pasch and the second to Johnson, which was returned nearly 40 yards before being tackled.

Hansen led the way with 97 yards on 13 tries and had a long run of 26 yards. Ethan Suhr piled up 86 yards on 26 carries.

Havlik was 5-12 through the air for 52 yards. Suhr caught one pass for 21 yards, Hansen 2 for 14, Patrick Daley 1 for 10 and Isaiah Sletten 1 for the 7-yard score.

Suhr and Caleb Witt each led the team with five tackless. Also, Jack Hansen and Kody Tormoen each had four.

The win, Royall’s first homecoming win since defeating Cashton in 2004, helps them to a three-way tie for last place in the Scenic Bluffs with Brookwood and Wonewoc-Center. The Panthers (1-6, 1-4) will take on Cashton (4-3, 4-1) on Friday, and Brookwood (1-6, 1-4) will travel to Hillsboro (4-3, 2-3).

SBC NOTES

Bangor defeated Cashton 22-6 in the battle of unbeatens. Andrew Piske scored all 3 touchdowns for Bangor and rushed for 258 of the team’s 324 total yards. Cashton’s trio of backs was held to around 40 yards a piece.

Hillsboro defeated New Lisbon 30-18. Tyler Crandall had a 95-yard interception return for a score to give the Tigers a 3-score lead late in the fourth quarter.

Necedah knocked off Wonewoc-Center 41-0. Matt Brown scored 4 of the Cardinals’ 6 touchdowns.

Michael Salamonski, David Stark and Sam Guilfoil team up to sack Brookwood quarterback Jaden Havlik in the first half of Friday’s game. (Nate Beier photo | gx3media.smugmug.com)

The Royall band performs at halftime. (Nate Beier photo | gx3media.smugmug.com)

Chandler Townsend is hit by Jordan Ramirez after pulling in a pass for a first down in the second quarter of Friday’s game. (Nate Beier photo | gx3media.smugmug.com)

Royall’s Trenton Pasch attracts the attention of the Brookwood defense, but breaks free for a significant gain on the Panthers’ first drive of the night. Pasch led the Royall ground attack with 52 yards on nine attempts as the team notched its first win of the year, 14–6. (Nate Beier photo | gx3media.smugmug.com)

 

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