Panthers unable to cash in for first win
MILL HALL — Bloomsburg had all the makings to get itself into the win column, but threw its chance away in a 21-16 defeat to Central Mountain.
Damon Rasmussen picked off Central Mountain’s Brett Gerlach with 7:34 remaining. He returned it 35 yards to the Wildcats’ 30 only to have a block in the back erase all but the interception.
The Panthers set up shop at their own 18-yard-line, but they didn’t seem to fret any. Moving with ease, they picked up big chunks on a 22-yard run by Rasmussen and quarterback Liam Zentner connecting with Madden Locke for 19 yards on back-to-back plays. It took eight plays, but the Panthers got all of the missed yardage back, facing a fourth-and-4 play at the Wildcats’ 30.
Zentner was well off his target, Parker Jones, who had some separation. The ball, instead, was out of reach, ending any hopes Bloomsburg had of a come-from-behind victory.
“We made some plays to get down here, but we didn’t capitalize on the fourth-down play, unfortunately,” Bloomsburg coach Mike Kogut said. “It’s tough, but you think you have a chance with the ball at the 30-yard-line.”
The Panthers couldn’t get much of anything going offensively in the first half, held to just 90 total yards. Whatever struggles they had going before halftime, looked to have gone away after the defense forced a three-and-out to open the third quarter.
Bloomsburg (0-3) drove 52 yards on eight plays, but couldn’t quite get the last one needed, with Zentner getting stuffed on the 1-yard-line. They came away with two points on the ensuing play with the Panthers tackling Wildcats’ Brett Gerlach in the end zone for a safety.
“We executed our plays better, obviously,” Kogut said. “We changed our mindset a little bit … Our kids capitalized on what we wanted them to do and a little momentum gets our kids going, too.”
Indeed it did, as another costly penalty erased a great 40-yard kickoff return by Nasir Heard. Instead of setting up at the Wildcats’ 35, they began at their own 48. Zentner, though, led the charge, completing three passes for a combined 38. He ended the drive by finding Locke for a 17-yard touchdown, closing the deficit to five points.
For the game, Zentner finished 10 of 16 with 114 yards.
“The effort is always there, and we never quit. I can guarantee you that every time we step onto the field,” Kogut said. “But we continue to hurt ourselves. We talk about the controllables — control what we can control — but penalties and a miss here and miss there against the teams we’re playing, you can’t do that. … I felt we had the opportunities, but just couldn’t cash in.”
In the closing seconds of the third quarter, the Wildcats made it a two-possession game again on a 20-yard run by Ryan Pentz.
The Panthers, though, had one last response, with Rasmussen returning the ensuing kickoff to the 50-yard-line. He continued his strong finish with a 22-yard dash well to the right side of the field and proceeding to punch it in from 3 yards out on the next play.
For the game, Rasmussen finished with 99 yards on 14 carries.
Defensively, the Panthers did enough to keep themselves in the game, but the first-half scores, a 10-yard reception by Micah Walizer in the first quarter and a 25-yard run by Gerlach — who looked like he was had baby oil on him, slipping past defenders the entire play — were enough for the Wildcats to never relinquish the lead.
“We made a lot of great stops tonight,” Kogut said. “... But we would stop them, stop them, and then they make a play. Or we stop them, stop them, and we draw a penalty. We just couldn’t string those three-and-outs together, and our defense was on the field a lot. We ran to the ball and were aggressive though.”
The Wildcats converted on seven of 10 third down plays and went 1-for-1 on fourth down. The Panthers, meanwhile, went 3-for-9 on third down and 1-for-4 on fourth.
Central Mountain iced the game by drawing the Panthers offsides on fourth down in the final minute. All told, the Panthers committed seven penalties, costing them 75 yards.
Link to story: https://www.pressenterpriseonl...
