Panthers go out with a bang

Creston spread the wealth Friday, eight different Panthers scoring points in a 72-13 home win over Perry.

Sophomore quarterback Tanner Ray had his best game of the season, completing 21 of 33 passes for 277 yards, seven passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.

He found five different receivers in the end zone — seniors Casen Dryden, Josh Schaefer, Xander Drake and Weston Trapp as well as sophomore Jace Purdum.

“[Ray] is going to be a tremendous player for us,” Creston Coach Brian Morrison said. “Being a sophomore coming in with the schedule we had is no easy task. He has a bright future, no doubt.”

This season, Ray completed 94 passes for 1,134 yards and 14 touchdowns. He threw nine interceptions, eight of them in the first four games.

“I’m proud of the way they ended the season and how we went through district play 4-1, especially after going 0-4 off the bat,” Morrison said. “A lot of teams just fold and don’t compete, and we played some good teams and we competed and won games.”

Despite finishing 4-1 in district play, a tie for first with Harlan and Nevada, the Panthers finish third in the points system, leaving them out of the playoffs.

Early Lead

Though Perry took their first drive down the field for a touchdown, the Panthers snagged the lead on the next drive and never looked back.

Ray got it to Trapp for a 6-yard touchdown reception on that drive. An offsides call on the point after attempt by Joaquin Flores gave the Panthers an opportunity to go for a short 2-point conversion. Trapp converted, putting Creston up 8-7.

The Panther defense forced a three-and-out for the Bluejays on the ensuing drive. Perry alternated senior Geren Kenney and Alec Burgin in at quarterback. Jackson Pettegrew got a 5-yard sack on Burgin, forcing the Bluejays to punt from their own 21-yard line.

Creston also only had three plays on their next drive, but that’s all it took for a touchdown. A screen pass to Purdum went 30 yards and the next play was a 32-yard touchdown to Drake.

Despite their lead, the Panthers never let off the gas pedal. On first-and-goal from the 7, Ray was stuffed for no gain. The next two plays were incomplete passes, setting up fourth down. Instead of kicking the field goal, Creston had faith in its quarterback who completed a touchdown to Purdum to begin the second quarter. Another 2-point conversion gave the Panthers a 23-7 lead.

Scoring Frenzy

The Panthers scored three more touchdowns before the end of the first half.

Ray connected with Schaefer on a 5-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. The offense got the ball back almost immediately as senior defensive back Tyler Riley intercepted a throw from Burgin on the Bluejays’ second play of the drive.

Riley led the defense with 4.5 tackles, four solo and one tackle for loss, in addition to his interception. Lane Travis also had 4.5 tackles, four solo. The defense logged seven tackles for loss — two by Pettegrew, two by Barber and one each by Riley, Mattias Schultes and Tom Mikkelsen.

Ray scrambled from the 22-yard line, weaving left and right to find an open man. Eventually, he took it in himself on a good block from Schaefer. The final score of the half was a 15-yard touchdown from Ray to Dryden.

Trapp led receivers, catching nine passes for 111 yards. Schaefer caught three for 41, Ethan Holliday had two for 38, Drake two for 36, Dryden two for 26, Purdum two for 23 and in a twist, offensive lineman Brayden Schoon caught a pass for 2 yards. On the ground, Trapp rushed for 91 yards and Ray for 84.

In an explosive start to the second half, Drake returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. At this point, the Panthers led 51-7. The Bluejays came back to score on the next drive, missing the 2-point conversion.

The Panthers struggled with penalties on the ensuing drive, but Ray eventually connected with Trapp for a 33-yard touchdown on a screen pass.

The Bluejays put offensive lineman Zach Shelley in at quarterback on the next drive. The first play was a false start, moving Perry back to their own 15. The next play was a bad snap, Creston senior Stephen Sistad recovering the ball and setting up the Panthers for a first-and-goal.

It took only one play to make it happen — Ray to Trapp again for a touchdown to close out the third quarter. The final touchdown was by senior Maddix Leppla, a 6-yard dash to the end zone.

Next Chapter

“We have 23 seniors,” Morrison said of the graduating class. “That’s a big number. We have some kids who have never played football before at the high school level that did pretty good for us. I can’t say enough good things about them because after losing last year’s senior class, we thought, where’s the leadership going to be? They stepped up, were tremendous leaders for us and set the tone for the next year for sure.”

The seniors posted strong stats throughout the district and Class 3A.

Trapp leads Class 3A in all-purpose yards with 2,118 — almost 300 yards more than second place. His 1,693 rushing yards also lead the class.

Drake leads Class 3A in kickoff return yards, posting 513. His two touchdowns are tied for first.

In District 6, Lucas Travis’ 71 tackles are the second most. Tyson Looney’s three interceptions rank second-highest. His 102 interception return yards leads the district.

But though the seniors were certainly standouts, Morrison is confident in the future of Creston football.

“It’s going to help because we have kids coming in with Friday night experience,” he said. “If you don’t have that, it’s not easy. Especially with some of the teams we’re playing. It’s going to help that we bring back kids at the varsity level.

Ray’s 14 passing touchdowns and 94 completions rank second in District 6. Flores completed 27 point afters, the fourth-most in the district. His 27-yard field goal was the second longest.

STATS

Creston 72, Perry 13

Perry statistics not available

Points by quarter

Cr 15 29 21 7 - 72

Pe 7 0 6 0 - 13

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

Pe - Geren Kenney 15 from Alex Burgin (Roberto Gomez kick good), 8:59.

Cr - Weston Trapp 6 from Ray (Trapp 2pt), 5:53.

Cr - Xander Drake 32 from Tanner Ray (Joaquin Flores kick), 3:20.

Second Quarter

Cr - Jace Purdum 7 from Ray (Trapp 2pt), 11:46.

Cr - Josh Schaefer 4 from Ray (Flores kick), 7:43.

Cr - Ray 22 run (Flores kick), 6:24.

Cr - Casen Dryden 15 from Ray (Flores kick), 2:12.

Third Quarter

Cr - Drake 94 kick off return (Flores kick), 11:47.

Pe - Gustavo Drahos 4 from Burgin (2pt no good), 4:41.

Cr - Trapp 33 from Ray (Flores kick), 2:14.

Cr - Trapp 11 from Ray (Flores kick), 0:54.

Fourth Quarter

Cr - Maddix Leppla 13 run (Flores kick), 9:01.

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TEAM STATISTICS

CR

Rushes-yards 17-201

Passing 21-33-0

Passing yards 277

Total yards 478

Punts-avg. 0-0

Fumbles-lost 0-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — CR: Weston Trapp 9-91. Tanner Ray 3-84, 1TD; Maddix Leppla 5-26, 1 TD.

PASSING — CR: Ray 21-33-0 for 277 yards and 7 TDs.

RECEIVING — CR: Trapp 9-111, 3TDs; Xander Drake 2-36, 1 TD; Josh Schaefer 3-41, 1 TD; Casen Dryden 2-26, 1 TD; Jace Purdum 2-23, 1 TD, Ethan Holliday 2-38.

TACKLE LEADERS (total-solo) — CR: Tyler Riley 4.5 (4), Lane Travis 4.5 (3), Kal Barber 4 (2), Davin Wallace 4 (2), Tyson Looney 3.5 (3), Mattias Schultes 3.5 (2), Jackson Pettegrew 3 (2), Lucas Travis 3 (1).

INTERCEPTIONS — CR: Riley 1.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES — CR: Stephen Sistad 1.

TACKLES FOR LOSS — CR: Pettegrew 2, Barber 2, Riley 1, Schultes 1, Tom Mikkelsen 1.

SACKS — CR: Pettegrew 1.