Panthers Tumble at A-J
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ From start to finish, Anna-Jonesboro controlled last night¹s game with
Pinckneyville, pouring it on the Panthers 60-0 with the mercy rule in effect
for the entire second half.
³That¹s an example of a team that¹s spent a lot of time working,² said
Panthers¹ head coach Tod Rushing. ³We need to make the weight room our
friend, they were pretty physical and pretty strong²
Things went south from the opening kickoff for the Panthers, as Matt Smith
picked up Jake Bathon¹s fumble to give the Wildcats possession.
Two plays later, quarterback Luke Partridge ran in from 28 yards out to put
A-J on top 7-0 following the extra point.
The Panthers went three-and-out on offense before punting, and the Wildcats
again needed only two plays from scrimmage to score, with Partridge taking
off once more for a 53-yard touchdown run.
³Weworked all week on what gaps to get in (on defense), and we just weren¹t
doing it,² said Rushing.
Pinckneyville quarterback Nathan Morton was picked off on the following
drive by Smith, who took the return over 50 yards into the end zone for a
21-0 Wildcats¹ lead with 7:33 remaining in the first quarter.
Ryan Mays broke a pair of tackles during a 16-yard A-J touchdown with 4:47
left in the opening period, and with 2:13 on the clock, Rik Hicks scampered
in from 34 yards out to make it 34-0, as the Panthers were still without a
first down
³(Hicks) is a horse, he¹s a big time body, and he can outrun almost anyone
on the football field,² said Rushing.
The score ballooned to 41-0 by the end of the first quarter, and 54-0 at
halftime.
Pinckneyville (1-7, 1-4) also continued a bad trend of getting banged up
physically, as Dylan Hagene (back) and Justin Farthing (knee) both had to
leave the game with injuries.
Hagene was taken off the field in an ambulance, and test results taken at a
local hospital were unavailable as the weekend paper went to press early
Saturday.
The Panthers finish the season fourth in the S.I.R.R.¹s Mississippi division
and will look to bounce back at home in their final game of 2008 against
Breese Central next Friday.
The win gives the Wildcats (7-1, 4-1) second place in the Mississippi behind
conference champion Du Quoin.