Panthers Trapp Cyclones

HARLAN — The Panthers (1-4, 1-0) were firing on all cylinders Friday in a 43-42 district win on the road against rival Harlan (2-3).

Senior running back Weston Trapp led the charge in the Panthers offense that outscored its cumulative points total from the previous four weeks.

“Coach [Garrison] Carter, he said we were going to run quite a bit,” Trapp said. “I was ready for it.”

It started with a 72-yard rushing touchdown on the Panthers’ opening drive and ended with 447 rushing yards, six touchdowns and three 2-point conversions.

Trapp said that first breakaway run is a moment that sticks out to him. “It really set it all up for me,” he said.

The stat book shows Trapp as the driving force behind the win, but he knows he couldn’t do it without a group behind him.

“I’ve got to give credit to the o-line,” Trapp said. “Without them, I couldn’t go anywhere. There are no touchdowns without them.”

Carter, the offensive coordinator, agreed, saying a lot went well in the offense. “It obviously all starts up front,” he said. “Our offensive line did a great job. They were the most physical unit on the field.”

In addition to the offensive breakthrough, the defense fought through adversity in the secondary to keep the Cyclones scoreless in the final quarter, making the game-winning stop on fourth-and-10.

“We’ve got a lot of young players who are learning how to play on Friday night, and they took another step forward in the right direction tonight,” head coach Brian Morrison said. “Very proud of them.”

First Half Flurry

It was a strong start on both sides of the ball for the Panthers. The defense forced the Cyclones to a punt around midfield on the opening drive. The offense followed the stop with Trapp’s 72-yard rushing touchdown. A kick by Joaquin Flores gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.

The Cyclones’ response came swiftly. A QB keeper by Gabe Arkfeld earned a first down on the 32-yard line. From there, Arkfeld completed a pass to tight end Jozef Reisz who took off for a 68-yard touchdown. The point after tied the game at 7.

After a three-and-out from Creston, Harlan put together an eight-play, 68-yard drive culminating in another Arkfeld to Reisz touchdown to end the first quarter.

The second quarter was a flurry of scoring, five consecutive drives resulting in touchdowns.

The opening drive of the second quarter was the Panthers’ first sustained drive down field. The 10-play drive lasted more than three minutes. Eight of the 10 plays were Trapp runs. He took a direct snap at the 3-yard line to push the ball in for a score.

The snap on the point after attempt was fumbled, the Panthers scrambling unsuccessfully to transition to a 2-point try. Harlan led 14-13 after the miss.

The Cyclones alternated between running back Reisz and full back Brody Bendorf when it came to the run game, but the Panthers kept the explosive runners contained.

“I think we did a really good job stopping the run game,” Morrison said. “That was number one priority; that’s what they’re good at. They’ve got some talented players.”

On second-and-4, senior Brayden Schoon got to the quarterback for a 3-yard loss. On third down, sophomore Davin Wallace broke up a pass to set up fourth-and-7. The Cyclones opted to go for it, Arkfeld converting on an 11-yard pass. From there, it was two runs by Bendorf to get in the endzone and lead 21-13.

Sophomore quarterback Tanner Ray opened the Panthers’ drive with a 9-yard keeper, setting up a short second down for Trapp to convert.

“Obviously the run game was prolific,” Morrison said. “I also thought Tanner Ray made great decisions.”

Ray completed 8 of 10 passes for 48 yards and no interceptions. He added 31 yards on the ground.

On second-and-8 from the Harlan 42-yard line, Trapp was swarmed by three Cyclones - Adam Ehlert, Bryce Van Baale and Hagen Sorensen all with a hand on the runner. With help from receivers Seth Gordon and Josh Schaefer, Trapp was able to break free of the defense, escaping for a 42-yard touchdown.

“Weston was obviously incredible on Friday — one of the greatest single-game performances I have ever seen,” Carter said. “The offensive line did a great job opening up holes at the line of scrimmage and then Weston did a phenomenal job of running through tackles and not going down at first contact.”

To make up for the missed PAT on the previous score, the Panthers opted to go for two. Trapp punched it in to tie the score at 21 with only two minutes left in the half.

It was a repeat of the struggle against Carroll on the kick off as the Cyclones took it 95 yards for a touchdown. The Cyclones got the ball again before the end of the half, Arkfeld airing it out deep with short time on the clock.

Gordon, a 5-10 receiver, had been filling in for Jake Hoyt in the secondary as Hoyt sat out for an ejection in the previous game. Covering 6-4 Reisz, Gordon went up, breaking up a pass deep downfield on third-and-12. When he landed, Gordon was injured, potentially dislocating his knee and causing ligament damage. The next play ended the half, giving the Panthers the opportunity to figure out their game plan in the secondary.

Defensive Stand

The Panthers got the ball to start the second half, but a fumble gave it to the Cyclones less than a minute in. Harlan took advantage of the short field, scoring on a 6-yard run to take a 35-21 lead.

The Panthers continued to alternate handoffs from Ray to Trapp and Trapp taking the direct snap. The method continued to be successful, Trapp scoring on a 4-yard run. An offsides call against Harlan on the PAT gave Creston a short try on the 2-point conversion. Trapp took a direct snap and punched it in for 2.

The Creston defense moved outside linebacker Jackson Pettegrew to the secondary, a position Coach Morrison said he played throughout the summer. Kal Barber came in to fill Pettegrew.

When the Cyclones scored again, Arkfeld’s third passing touchdown, it looked like they may pull away from the Panthers. With less than four minutes left in the third quarter, Harlan was up 42-29 and had scored 14 points in each of the first three quarters.

Despite the adversity, the Panthers defense showed they could compete against top-tier offenses, shutting out the Cyclones through the remainder of the game.

On Harlan’s next drive, sophomore Tom Mikkelsen got to the Arkfeld, the ball coming loose during the sack. Referees ruled forward progress had been stopped before the ball came out, but the play still resulted in a 5-yard loss. Mikkelsen led the team in tackles for loss with 2.5. The Panthers forced a turnover on downs on that drive.

Ray found some short passes in the ensuing drive to keep the ball moving. Trapp, Schaefer, Xander Drake, Casen Dryden and Ethan Holliday all had receptions during the game. Trapp scored his fifth on an 18-yard run. The Panthers opted to go for two, missing the conversion and putting them down 7.

Though there were still more than seven minutes left on the clock, the Panthers opted to try an onside kick, but the Cyclones recovered in Panthers’ territory.

Harlan struggled to stay between the sticks, a two false starts and a holding call setting up second-and-17. Though they were able to convert that first down, the next play was a lateral to Reisz who lost control of the ball, Creston senior Lucas Travis the first to get his hands on it in a Panther recovery at the 10-yard line.

The next eight plays were all Trapp runs. The Cyclones couldn’t stop Trapp as he gained yardage on every play. He finished with a 36-yard touchdown to put the Panthers down one with an important decision to make. Do they kick the PAT and tie the game or go for the 2 point conversion for the win?

“I think when you have momentum on your side running the football, we’re going to win the game right there and then we’re going to get a stop on defense,” Morrison said. “That’s just what it is.”

Who else but Weston Trapp to run in the winning 2-point conversion, putting the Panthers up 43-42.

But with three minutes left on the game clock, business wasn’t finished yet.

Arkfeld completed four passes to set up a first-and-10 on the 42-yard line with less than two minutes to play. But the Panthers’ defense was a fortress they couldn’t penetrate.

On first down, Lane Travis broke up a pass attempt, the ball falling incomplete. On second down, Schoon tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage, knocking it down. On third down, Arkfeld went for a low pass on the sidelines, but the receiver couldn’t make the catch. On Harlan’s final attempt, the Creston defense and its stretched-thin secondary broke up the pass to earn Creston their first win.

Senior Lucas Travis led the defense with 9.5 total tackles and four solo. Pettegrew had 7.5, three solo and a sack. Wallace and Lane Travis each logged five total and three solo.

“We have kids we keep preaching week in and week out, this is what you need to do to get better as a player for our defense. We started to see glimpses of it more consistently than we did in the first four games,” Morrison said of the defense. “Our kids never give up, they never give up, they never quit. Hats off to them for that.”

From his career-best game to the team earning their first win of the season, Trapp said it felt amazing. “I think this is the first time our team really bonded,” he said. “We came here with a lot of energy. I think we all knew what was going to happen. We stuck by it.”

Carter said the plan for the program is starting to be visible on the field. “With only playing guys on one side of the ball, we know our advantage is the amount of time we have to work with them,” he explained. “We are going to keep getting better and better each week and hopefully we’re playing some of the best football in Iowa by week nine.”

The Panthers host Atlantic (5-1) Friday and hope to keep the momentum going.

“We’ve got another good team coming next week in Atlantic at our homecoming,” Morrison said. “We’ve got to stay focused, have a good weekend, get a good game plan and have the kids execute again Friday.”

STATS

Harlan statistics unavailable

Creston 43, Harlan 42

Points by quarter

HA 14 14 14 0—42

CR 7 14 8 14—43

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

CR — Weston Trapp 72 run (Joaquin Flores kick), 8:07.

HA — Jozef Reisz 68 pass from Gabe Arkfeld (Nolan Schwery kick), 7:19.

HA — Reisz 12 pass from Arkfeld (Schwery kick), 0:51.

Second Quarter

CR — Trapp 3 run (bad snap on PAT), 9:35.

HA — Brody Bendorf 3 run (Schwery kick), 4:39.

CR — Trapp 42 run (Trapp 2pt), 2:15.

HA — 95 yd kickoff return (Schwery kick), 2:03.

Third Quarter

HA — Bendorf 20 run (Schwery kick), 10:13

CR — Trapp 1 run (Trapp 2pt), 7:01.

HA — Dallas McDowell 21 from Arkfeld (Schwery kick), 3:52.

Fourth Quarter

CR — Trapp 18 run (2pt no good), 7:24.

CR — Trapp 36 run (Trapp 2pt), 3:00.

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TEAM STATISTICS

CR

Rushes-yards

Passing 8-10-1

Passing yards 48

Total yards 518

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — CR: Weston Trapp 40-447, 6 TD. Tanner Ray 4-31.

PASSING — CR: Ray 8-10-0 for 48.

RECEIVING — CR: Casen Dryden 1-13; Xander Drake 2-11; Trapp 3-15; Josh Schaefer 1-8; Ethan Holliday 1-1.

TACKLE LEADERS (total-solo) — CR: Luke Travis 9.5-4; Jackson Pettegrew 7.5-5; Davin Wallace 5-3; Lane Travis 5-3; Tyson Looney 4.5-3; Tyler Riley 3-2; Mattias Schultes 3-2; Jayden Myers 3-2.

INTERCEPTIONS — CR: None

FUMBLE RECOVERIES — CR: Lucas Travis 1.

TACKLES FOR LOSS — CR: Pettegrew 1; Schoon 1; Tom Mikkelsen 2.5.

SACKS — CR: Pettegrew 1; Schoon 1; Mikkelsen 1.5.