Football: Panthers headed for playoffs for first time in decade
Erie-P'town eligible for postseason for first time since 2002
The Erie-Prophetstown Panthers became playoff eligible for the first time in a decade, blanking Kewanee 41-0 on Friday to move to move to 5-2 on the season.
Nick Williams ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns, Zach Inskeep added 109 rushing yards and another score, and the Panthers turned a 7-0 halftime lead into a Big Rivers blowout in Kewanee.
Ethan Howard added a TD run and TD pass, rushing for 50 yards and throwing for 87 more. Brandon McCullough caught four balls for 35 yards, and made five of his six PAT kicks.
The Boilermakers (1-6, 1-6) gained only 85 yards on the night.
AFC 48, Orangeville 42, 2OT: Jake Kaecker’s 10-yard TD run in the second overtime capped a wild NUIC Upstate victory for the Raiders on the road.
Kaecker finished the game with 215 yards and four touchdowns, and Andrew LeFevre added 130 yards rushing, 100 yards passing and a pair of TDs – one on the ground and one through the air.
But it was Ermir Ramadani’s fumble recovery in the end zone with 2 minutes left in regulation that erased a 36-30 deficit and sent the game into overtime. At one point early in the third quarter, AFC (4-3, 3-3) trailed 28-14.
The Raiders had 468 total yards to 268 (211 on the ground) for Orangeville (1-6, 1-5).
Stockton 65, Milledgeville 12: The Blackhawks gained 589 of their 595 yards on the ground and led 46-6 by halftime in an NUIC Upstate win at Floyd Daub Field.
Kameron DawTyne led the Missiles (1-6, 1-5) with 196 yards on 14-for-23 passing, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Jordan Harris caught 11 passes for 138 yards and both scores, and he also completed 3 of 4 passes for 15 yards. Daniel Walker led the defense with 18 tackles, 12 of them solo.
Stockton (7-0, 7-0 NUIC Upstate) held Milledgeville to minus-7 yards rushing.
Forreston 47, West Carroll 0: The Thunder managed only 143 yards of total offense in an NUIC Northwest loss in Savanna.
Nick Hughes threw for 80 yards on 7-for-17 passing, and Mason VanHook led the ground attack with 29 yards on nine carries. Brandon Anderson and Jeff Casey each had 10 tackles for West Carroll (2-5, 2-4).
Ross Williams led the Cardinals with 77 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Kaleb Reining also had a pair of TD runs as Forreston (6-1, 5-1) built a 27-0 lead by halftime.
Eastland-Pearl City 49, South Beloit 0: The Wildcatz rolled to another rout, this time shutting out the SoBos after a long bus ride to the Illinois-Wisconsin border. EPC stayed undefeated, moving to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in NUIC Northwest play; South Beloit dropped to 1-6 overall and in conference.
Lena-Winslow 63, Polo 0: The Marcos fell to 2-5 overall and 1-5 in NUIC Northwest play with a loss to the powerhouse Panthers (6-1, 6-1) in Lena.
