By Marla Jones, Sports Editor • marla@southerntorch.com

COLLINSVILLE, Ala. — The Collinsville Panthers started out the 2018 season  with a shocking  13-0 shutout of the Plainview Bears on Thursday night. The Panthers and Bears have met on the field for a varsity game twenty-four times, last time being in 1979.  The Collinsville Panthers led with 13 wins to Plainview's 10 , with one matchup ending in a tie.  The Collinsville Panthers were named the Southern Torch Team of the Week for their efforts.

The Collinsville Panthers held the Plainview Bears to 59 yards and only allowed four first-downs.

On the opening drive of the game, Senior Plainview tailback, Tony Rodriguez injured his ACL and will be out for the remainder of the season.  “He is one of the best athletes I have ever been around” said Plainview Head Coach Nick Ledbetter. “He is a good kid and unfortunately he is done for the season.”

Late in the first quarter, Collinsville drove down the field with carries from Jarrod Barkley and Mason MckInney to put the Panthers in field-goal range.  Junior kicker, Jason Perez nailed a perfect 38-yard field goal to put the Panthers on the board, with :05 remaining in the first quarter.

The Plainview Bears began to battle back in the second quarter with carries by Senior, Jessie Davis.  A personal foul call against the Bears voided their efforts.  A pass by Andrew McLaughlin was picked off by McKinney and returned back to Plainview’s 27. The Panthers advanced down the field to the 13-yard line before a penalty ended the drive.  Perez kicked another 38-yard field goal to advance the Panther 6-0 with 7:25 remaining in the first half.

The Panthers started the third quarter with a 10-play, 55-yard march down the field that ended when Kaleb Jones threw an interception.  The Bears went three-and-out returning the ball back to the Panthers.  On third-and short, Jones scored on a  2-yard quarterback keeper with :38 remaining in the third. The extra-point by Perez was spot on, giving the Panthers the 13-0 advantage.

The fourth quarter saw Perez become a hero when he dove on the high snap, booted the ball into midfield and fended off the hungry Bears.  On the next Bear possession, McLaughlin connected with Jackson Hosch for the 22-yard gain.  Collinsville linebacker, Blake Sparks sacked McLaughlin and knocked the ball loose.  Myles Underwood recovered the ball, ending all chance for the Bear comeback.

Jones finished the game, completing 8 of 16 passes for 91 yards with one interception.  He ran the ball 19 times for 109 yards and scored a touchdown.

Perez finished the night as the scoring leader for Collinsville with seven points.