Follow Us 
Related News
Current Poll
| Run ends for Panthers in substate |
 |
 |
 |
| Sports | |||
| Written by Gene Morris | |||
| Wednesday, 25 November 2009 08:00 | |||
|
The Paola High School defense did about everything it could to slow down Bishop Miege receiver Justin McCay in the Class 4A substate football playoffs at Panther Stadium on Friday evening. Paola played tight on him at the line and even double-teamed the 6-4, 200-pound senior.  McCay, who has signed with Oklahoma to play football next year, simply showcased what the Sooners already knew — great athleticism, good hands, quickness and the ability to go get the football. Paola swarmed Bishop Miege’s running attack, sending seven or eight guys to the ball, limiting the Stags to 102 yards rushing. What the Panthers could not stop was junior quarterback Max Shortell’s favorite target. McCay caught six passes for 183 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-19 victory. The Stags completed 11 of 19 passes on the night for 283 yards. Bishop Miege (11-2) advanced to the Class 4A state championship football game against Topeka-Hayden, who defeated Buhler 35-21. The Panthers (9-4) ended its state playoff run with the program’s sixth appearance in the substate playoffs. It is the farthest the team has advanced in the state playoffs since 2006, when the Panthers marched all the way to the state title game against Andale. “When you invest the time and effort we put into this and it ends, and it doesn’t end on a positive note, it hurts,” Paola coach Michael Dumpert told his team in the locker room. “Only one team in the state gets to end the season with a win. “Take time to reflect on what you have achieved and the lessons you have learned,” Dumpert said. “I think you will look back and think this was a great year. I am really proud of you guys and what you have accomplished, I really mean that.” Bishop Miege came out looking to establish the run, and Bobby Germinder broke off a 21-yard gain to move the chains for the first time on the night. Paola senior lineman Jesse Smail blew through the line and dropped Germinder for a 4-yard loss on the next play. An inside handoff went to McCay, and Paola defensive back Isaac Cotton was there to bring him down for a loss. The Stags were forced to go to the air, and the Panthers could not contain the athletes Shortell had to throw the ball to. Shortell drilled a tight spiral to McCay down the sideline, and the Stags were on the scoreboard with a 29-yard touchdown pass. The kick was good, making it 7-0 with 10:14 left in the first quarter. Paola started at its own 30-yard line and began to eat some yards on the ground. Tyler Henness ran for 5 yards and then 2 yards on a plow up the middle. He gained another tough 3 yards on third down to pick up a first down. Quarterback Seth Kern kept the drive rolling with a 16-yard gain to take the ball to the Bishop Miege 43-yard line. Paola was forced to punt on fourth down, needing 9 yards. Hawkins pinned the Stags at their own 6-yard line. Shortell was looking for McCay in the flat and Hawkins jumped the route for the Panthers, picking off a pass and taking it to the Bishop Miege 10-yard line. Hawkins ran for 3 yards as Paola took the ball to the 3-yard line for third down and goal to go. A 2-yard run by Hawkins took the ball to the 1, setting up fourth down. Henness got low and drove for the final yard, scoring with 2:43 left in the quarter. Paola’s kick was no good, making it 7-6. Bishop Miege went back to work at its own 20-yard line, and it would not take long for the Stags to add to its lead. Shortell found McCay for a 75-yard touchdown pass, taking just 36 seconds to answer Paola’s score. Bishop Miege added the kick for a 14-6 lead. The Stags started turning up the pressure up front and sacked Kern for a 15-yard loss, setting up a fourth down and 28 yards to go for the Panthers. Paola punted from deep in its own territory to start the second quarter and Bishop Miege was left with a short field, taking over at the Panther 48-yard line. The Stags drove to the 5-yard line and sent Seamus Martin in at quarterback for what looked like a running formation for him. Martin began to run with the football, stopped at the line of scrimmage, protected by a sea of red and white jerseys in front of him, and threw a little lob pass over the line to McCay for the touchdown, making it 21-6. Kern was sacked on Paola’s next possession, putting Paola in a second down and long situation, needing 21 yards. Hawkins ran for 20 yards, bringing up a fourth down with just 1 yard to go. Paola was held on fourth down and Bishop Miege took over at the 46-yard line. The Panther defense rose to the occasion, stopping the Stags on three straight downs and forcing them to punt the ball back. Paola muffed the punt, but fell on it to maintain the possession at the 21-yard line. Hawkins ran for 8 yards and picked up another yard on third down to give Paola a new set of downs. On fourth down and 3 yards to go, Paola was set to punt and snapped the ball to its up man, Kern, who ran for 5 yards to keep the drive alive. Kern then hit Bishop Miege with a taste of its own medicine, connecting with Anthony West on a 55-yard touchdown pass. Suddenly, Paola was right back in it, 21-12 with 1:56 left in the half. McCay had a big return on the kickoff. Bishop Miege started with another short field, setting up shop at the Paola 47-yard line. Shortell hit Trevor Relaford for a 12-yard gain and then hooked up with McCay again for a 20-yard touchdown pass, making it 28-12 with 4:07 left in the second quarter. Hawkins ran for 20 yards as Paola drove to the Bishop Miege 40-yard line, but the Stags sacked Kern for the third time in the half and the drive stalled for the Panthers. Bishop Miege had Paola pinned deep with its second half kickoff. It looked like the Panthers would be at its own 8, but a face mask penalty on the Stags gave Paola the ball at the 20-yard line. Paola needed to put a drive together and answer with a score to open the half and started to move the chains. Hawkins ran for 13 yards to take the ball to the 40. Hawkins picked up another five. On fourth and a chain link to go, Hawkins picked up the inch for a first down. Paola was then put into another fourth down and long situation and punted the ball. Bishop Miege took over at its own 27. Smail dropped Releford for a loss of 2 yards. Shortell found McCay for a 30-yard gain, taking the ball to the Paola 44-yard line. Germinder capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run, making it 35-12 with 4:26 left in the third quarter. The Panthers were stopped on its next possession and set to punt when Brint Hastert had trouble with a low snap. He scooped it up and ran to get off a soccer style-kick, but the ball was blocked by Bishop Miege. The Stags got the ball at the Paola 35-yard line and took full advantage. Shortell threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Mark Thorson, making it 42-12 with 3:18 on the clock. A 3-yard run by Kern and a 7-yard run by Hawkins gave Paola a pair of first downs on its next possession, but an incomplete pass and a sack left Paola back to punt again. This time, McCay just leaped into the air over two blockers to get his hand on the punt and the Stags got the ball at the Paola 21-yard line. Paola stopped Bishop Miege and got the ball back, only to fumble it. Bishop Miege recovered the ball at the Paola 1-yard line and scored on a touchdown run by Germinder, increasing the lead to 48-12 with 8:36 left in the fourth quarter. Led by a 10-yard run and an 11-yard run by Ryan Schultz, the Panthers marched to put one more touchdown on the scoreboard. Henness ran for the last 5 yards, making the final score 48-19. Senior farewell Playing in their final game for the Panthers were seniors Brad Blann, Ryan Haggerty, Gus Hart, Brint Hastert, Cale Karigan, Daniel Mawby, Alex Rogers, Ryan Schultz, Jesse Smail, John Walters and Luke Wilson. keeping the tradition alive It was no accident the Paola High School football team advanced to the Class 4A substate playoffs. When the likes of Smail, Mawby, Karigan and Wilson were in seventh- and eighth-grade, no one was talking about the second coming of the Paola Panthers and a class that was destined for state. Yet, through hard work and determination, the Class of 2010 brought the program to within one win of playing in its fifth state championship game. “I always say a team goes as far as its seniors will take them,” Dumpert said. “The seniors took this team a long way. They wanted it and they worked hard for it. They made themselves one of the best four teams in the state this season. “The seniors showed you what it takes,” he said. “They kept the tradition alive. Next year, it is up to you. What legacy are you going to leave?” Mawby, one of the leading tacklers at linebacker and team captain, said the Panthers walked off the field knowing they put all they had into it. “It hurts to fall short like that, but it was a great run and a great year,” Mawby said. “We kept getting better every week and that was a lot of fun. It feels good to leave our mark on the Panther tradition.” Smail, who played on the line both ways, said the goal began with a state dream, but the way was paved in the weight room. “It all begins in the weight room,” Smail said. “We worked hard in the weight room. Hopefully, the guys will realize that’s how we got here and do the work to get back here next year.” The real legacy the 2010 seniors leave behind, Karigan said, is knowing it takes everyone. “We didn’t get this far because of one or two guys,” Karigan said. “We got here because of everyone. This was a team effort. I look forward to coming back and watching these guys next year.”
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email This
Hits: 412 Trackback(0)
Comments (0)
 Write comment
You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
