Story By Brad Nevels
The Woodville Panthers picked up its fifth win of the season thanks in large part to a strong first half Friday night in Scant City.
Woodville’s 26-6 halftime lead turned out to be enough to beat Class 3A Brindlee Mountain.
Woodville’s five-game winning streak is the longest is school history.
“Feels good to be 5-1,” Woodville head coach Joel Poole said.
The Panthers jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter Friday night. Woodville got the ball first and quickly got into Lion territory thanks to runs of 10 and 14 yards from Jonah Sparks and AJ Vasquez. On third and long, quarterback Kaden Franklin found a wide open Elijah Sparks down the middle for a 43-yard touchdown. The Woodville defense forced a turnover on downs on the Lions possession and got the ball back on its own 36-yard-line. The Panthers put together a 13-play scoring drive that took up nearly six minutes of game time. Franklin punched it in from a yard out to cap off the drive. Both of Jackson Clark’s extra points were good in the first quarter.
Woodville scored two more times in the second quarter to extend its lead. A sack on fourth down stopped a five minute drive from the Lions, and Woodville took over on the 42-yard line. A Brindlee Mountain unsportsmanlike conduct penalty put Woodville in scoring position. Jonah Sparks had runs of 12 and seven yards to set up his touchdown from the one. Woodville’s defense forced a punt, giving the Panthers the ball back with 2:36 left in the half. Three chunk plays got Woodville in the red-zone, and Franklin found Jonah Sparks in the front corner of the end zone with 35 seconds left. The Panthers led 26-6 at halftime.
“We practiced hard this week and it showed in the first half,” Poole said. “I felt like we got complacent in the second half, but we did what it took to win.”
The second half was not quite as sharp for Woodville. The Panthers’ defense and special teams kept Brindlee Mountain off the scoreboard in the third quarter. Woodville recovered an onside kick to start the half, but they were forced to punt. Jonah Sparks’s punt was downed at the six-yard-line. Two plays later, Caleb Lancaster tackled the Brindlee Mountain running back in the end zone for a safety. Sparks had another punt in the quarter that was downed at the four, keeping the Brindlee Mountain offense on the wrong end of the field.
The Lions looked to be gaining some momentum early in the fourth quarter. They scored a touchdown to cut the Woodville lead to 16, but failed to convert the two point try. Woodville answered with a 14-play scoring drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock. Franklin found a wide open Lancaster in the end zone for the touchdown and two pint conversion to put the game out of reach. Brindlee Mountain returned a punt for a touchdown with 35 seconds left, but by then it was too little too late for the Lions. Woodville won 36-18.
Franklin led the Woodville offense with 142 passing yards and three touchdowns. He completed 10 of 18 attempts. He also ran for 62 yards and a score. Jonah Sparks carried the ball 26 times for 136 yards and a touchdown.
Woodville is off next week before hosting Valley Head in a Class 1A Region 7 matchup Oct. 10.
