Errors stifle Panther offense

WINTERSET — Two red zone turnovers, costly penalties and mental errors killed drives for the Panthers Friday in a 31-6 loss at Winterset.

Though the defense held the Huskies to 8 points in the first half, the loss of two defensive linemen to injury added a challenge for the young team who allowed 23 points in the second half.

“We drove the field a couple times and then went backwards or turned the ball over,” head coach Brian Morrison said. “We’ve got some young kids playing on Friday night, and we’ve just got to keep getting better as a football team.”

New Look

After graduating 25 seniors, there’s a new face to Panthers football. On both sides of the ball, the team is primarily filled with first-year starters.

Sophomore quarterback Tanner Ray completed 16/30 passes for 129 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Ray found a groove with senior receiver Casen Dryden, completing six passes for 48 yards.

“We were just trying to take what they give us,” offensive coordinator Garrison Carter said. “Overall, I think Tanner did some nice things. I think offensively in general, we did a lot of good things, we just couldn’t finish drives and kept having penalties and killing our drives.”

There were two seniors returners who were able to lead the team in the game — one on each side of the ball.

Weston Trapp led the offense with 22 carries for 107 rushing yards and five receptions for 21 yards. He used his speed and track hurdling background to extend carries.

“Weston’s a gamer, right. We knew we would have to lean on him a little bit, and I think he did some really nice things running the ball,” Carter said. “He’s physical, fast and he had a good game. We need to do just a better job supporting around him.”

Lucas Travis returns as a linebacker, leading the defense Friday. He had a game-high 10 total tackles, seven solo tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. His leadership became especially vital after defensive linemen Camden Smith and Tom Mikkelsen were each sidelined with injury.

“I think we played well just as a unit,” Morrison said of the defense. “I think our d-line held up after losing two really good players for us. They did a good job on the defensive front. I think Travis played a really good game for us. He’s a returning starter. We played the game with one returning starter from next year.”

The defense started the game with turnover on downs after the Huskies drove to the 21 yard line. Winterset’s offense earned three first downs before an incomplete pass and a short run by quarterback Hunter Lyon set up third-and-7. Creston sophomore Davin Wallace stopped senior star running back Hank Wilmes 1 yard short of the first down. On fourth-and-1, the Panthers made the stop to turnover the ball.

Morrison said the secondary stepped up during the game. Senior Tyler Riley was a wide receiver last year and is now a key part of the secondary. Even at 5-5, 140 lbs, Riley defended passes to Winterset’s 6-2, 245 lbs tight end Jaydn Cooper, holding him to 44 yards. Riley had seven total tackles including four solo.

Winterset’s second drive also ended in a turnover on downs after tight secondary coverage. On fourth-and-8, Lyon tossed up a ball to senior Carsen Dinkla, Creston junior defensive back Lane Travis defending pass that fell incomplete.

Mistakes

In the Panthers’ first four drives on offense, they found only one first down. On their fourth drive, a false start turned second-and-6 to second-and-11. Trapp had two consecutive 5-yard runs, setting up fourth-and-1. Again, Trapp took the carry, converting for a first down, but an illegal motion penalty negated the play, forcing the Panthers to punt.

The next drive, the Panthers began to gain momentum, a third-and-5 pass to Trapp converting a first down. Trapp ran for 11 on the next play to set up another first down. From the Winterset 41, Ray’s pass to Dryden was intercepted by senior Gavin Day.

A second-quarter drive saw Winterset’s Jace Bellamy with a one-handed interception in the end zone on a pass from Trapp to Dryden.

In the third quarter, after the Huskies scored their second touchdown, The Panthers drove down to the 3-yard line.

The drive started with a 31-yard breakaway run by Trapp. Ray completed a 5-yard pass to senior tight end Josh Schaefer and a 15-yard pass to senior Xander Drake, putting the Panthers in the red zone. Senior Parker Varner caught a pass to put the Panthers at first-and-goal at the 9.

On the 3-yard line, the Panthers fumbled the ball, Winterset’s Jacob Gustafson making the recovery. The Huskies would go on to score on a 14-yard rush by Wilmes on that drive, going up 22-0 on the Panthers.

“We’ve just got to eliminate the negative plays, pre-snap penalties and missed assignments that are killing drives for us,” Carter said.

Another good drive by the Panthers saw them down to the Winterset 24-yard line, but four incompletions turned the ball over on downs.

The Huskies were able to score another two points on a Creston error when the snap for a punt went through the back of the end zone.

Improvement

In the final quarter, Creston put together a nine play, 77-yard drive culminating in a 21-yard touchdown reception by Drake.

Trapp got the drive started with a 14-yard run before two Dryden receptions put the Panthers across the 50-yard line. Ray and Trapp alternated running the ball, Dryden with another nice reception to set up third-and-7 at the 21.

“I thought our kids kept competing throughout the game – on offense, defense and special teams,” Morrison said. “That’s what good football teams do. Teams will get better if you do that.”

Ray connected with Drake on the right sideline to put the Panthers on the board. In the 2-point attempt, Ray’s pass to Trapp fell incomplete.

With a week one loss and a tough week two matchup against the reining Class 4A state champion, the Panthers may not look how they did a season ago. But it’s not from lack of effort.

“I want our kids to play hard for our community and our school district and they did that,” Morrison said. “Did we play perfect? Absolutely not. We made mistakes. We’ve got to correct those. Physically, if we get beat, it is what it is. Some of those were mental mistakes we’ve got to get corrected.”

The coaches aren’t concerned with the threat of Lewis Central as much as they are concerned with improving as a football team.

“We knew we were going to have some ups and downs obviously with a little bit of a rebuild this year, but we expect to win every game we go into,” Carter said. “So we’re going to take this film, learn from it and take that into next week.”

STATS

Winterset 31, Creston 6

Points by quarter

Wi 0 8 14 9—31

Cr 0 0 0 6—6

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

Wi — Hank Wilmes 2 run (Jadyn Cooper 2pt from Hunter Lyon good,) 1:01.

Second Quarter

None.

Third Quarter

Wi — Wilmes 36 run (Cooper 2pt rush good), 8:48.

Wi — Wilmes 14 run (2 pt no good), 4:34.

Fourth Quarter

Cr — Xander Drake 21 pass from Tanner Ray (2pt no good), 6:28.

Wi — Gavin Day 13 pass from Lyon (Dominic Tucker PAT good), 3:21.

Wi — Safety, bad snap on punt, 2:13.

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TEAM STATISTICS

Wi Cr

Rushes-yards 42-209 28-108

Passing 15-24-0 16-30-2

Passing yards 208 129

Total yards 417 237

Punts-avg. 1-30 2-37

Return yards 5 0

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — CR: Weston Trapp 22-107. Tanner Ray 6-1. WI: Wilmes 25-179, 3 TD. Lyon 8-7. Ben Porter 3-10.

PASSING — CR: Ray 16-29-1 for 129. WI: Lyon 14-22-0 for 203.

RECEIVING — CR: Casen Dryden 6-48; Xander Drake 2-36, 1 TD; Trapp 5-21; Parker Varner 2-19; Josh Schaefer 1-5. WI: Jadyn Cooper 5-44; Bowen Tadlock 3-30; Wyatt Swanson 2-74; Hank Wilmes 2-32; Gavin Day 1-16, 1 TD.

TACKLE LEADERS (total-solo) — CR: Luke Travis 10-7; Tyler Riley 7-4; Lane Travis 6.5-4; Kal Barber 4.5-2; Aiden Snodgrass 4-2; Brayden Schoon 3.5-3; Davin Wallace 3.5-1; Jake Hoyt 3-2; Mattias Schultes 2-1. WI: Jace Bellamy 8.5-4; Kahne Kiburz 7.5-3; Tadlock 4.5-2; Day 4-2; Cael Hirsch 4-2.

INTERCEPTIONS — CR: None. WI: Bellamy 1; Day 1.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES — CR: None. WI: Jacob Gustafson, 1.

TACKLES FOR LOSS — CR: Luke Travis 2.5; Barber 2; Schultes 1; Schoon 1; Tom Mikkelsen .5; Jackson Pettegrew .5; Jayden Meyers .5. WI: Lane Hockett 1; Swanson 1; Porter 1; Tadlock.

SACKS — CR: Barber 1. WI: Hockett 1; Porter .5; Lyon .5.