FOOTBALL: Panthers spoil Carterville's title hopes
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ With Carterville looking to claim a share of the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference Mississippi Division title, Pinckneyville sent the Lions home with nothing but a stunning 30-22 upset on senior night at Quillman Field on Friday as the Panthers' mix of run and pass kept their opponent guessing.
Neil Kellerman had a huge game running the football, totalling 127 yards on 15 carries while also making a difference in the return game.
"I told them all year, if we ever put three things together, play smart, play hard, and be the most physical, I thought we had a chance of being a really good football team," said Pinckneyville head coach Tod Rushing.
"I thought tonight was one of the nights we put those three things together, I thought we played smart, we definitely played hard and I thought we were the most physical team on the football field," he added.
"A lot of credit goes to our offensive line, they did a great job tonight."
After the offense achieved one first down then punted it away on their opening drive, Pincknevyille's defense was clearly geared up and ready to go - so much so that they began their first series with three offsides penalties in the first four plays.
With good field position, the Lions took advantage. Their 15-play, 76-yard drive included a fourth down conversion deep in Panther territory before being capped off by Zac Bollman's run into the end zone from five yards out.
After a touchback on the kickoff, Panther running back Neil Kellerman busted a big play running down to the Lions' 39-yard line, then got his team a first down with a ten-yard gain down to the 26.
On third-and-five from the Carterville 21, quarterback Bryant Shute hurled a pass towards the end zone that Adam Barczewski leaped up and caught for the Panthers' first touchdown of the game with 0:16 left in the opening quarter.
The defense forced a three-and-out by the Lions, then the offense went right back to work.
Shute made a big play on third-and-ten from the Pinckneyville 20-yard line, scrambling for 17 yards and a first down, then made another key run from the Lions'43 down to the 18.
Shute connected with Cole Kellerman for a 16-yard pass play after a penalty backed the Panthers up five yards, then J.D. Conner took a handoff through the left side for a seven yard touchdown run.
Later in the quarter, N. Kellerman laid a hit on a Lions' receiver that jarred the ball loose, allowing Taylor Beninati to grab it for the Panthers at Carterville 22-yard line. Shute connected with Conner over the middle for a first down, then threw a perfect ball to Marian Brammeier in the corner of the end zone as the junior tight end just got his toes in bounds for the score.
The Panthers led 22-7 heading to the break, and the defense would be up to the task of holding onto the lead in the second half.
"I thought our tackling was so much better (than it had been recently)," Rushing said. "(Lions' quarterback Jeff Aldridge) is an outstanding player and I thought we really held him in check. He got out a couple times, but we'll take that."
Pinckneyville stopped the Lions inside the red zone to force turnovers on downs on two different occassions in the third period, then Beninati picked off Aldridge at the Panthers' 38 yard line early in the fourth quarter, where the offense needed only two plays to add to their lead.
N. Kellerman broke another lengthy run on the first play, motoring down to the Lions' 33-yard line where he was knocked out of bounds. Shute followed with a completion over the middle to Justin Hale, then pitched to Conner for the two-point conversion that put the game out of reach at 30-7 with 10:05 to go.
"We did something we hadn't done all year, we made big plays when we needed to," said Rushing. "(Earlier in the season) it seemed like every time we'd get someone fourth and (long), they'd get it, and tonight I thought we made some very key stops."
The Lions attempted to come back on the feet of Aldridge, who broke a 56-yard touchdown with 8:01 to go in the game, but the Panthers were able to chew up enough clock on offense that when Carterville scored again there were just 15 seconds to go in the game.
An onside kick attempt by the Lions was recoverd by Shute, who took a knee under center to close out Pincknevyille's third win of the year.
Shute complemented N. Kellerman's 100-yard-plus effort with 81 yards on 17 carries while completing 5-of-10 in the air for 76 yards.
Conner added 35 yards on his 8 carries and Hale had 33 yards in 5 attempts to help add to the Panthers' impressive total of 363 yards on the ground.
Pincknevyille's 2010 season will end next week at Dupo as the Panthers (3-5, 2-3) go for three in a row to send off the nine seniors who were honored before the Carterville game on the right note.
"They've got some nice size and they do some things pretty well," Rushing said. "It's a tough place to play, so we're going to have to go up there ready to play."