FOOTBALL: Panthers end skid by thumping Sparta
Pinckneyville's defense held Sparta scoreless for the first 40 minutes of Friday's homecoming game for the Bulldogs and the Panthers ended their five-game losing streak with a 35-12 victory to salvage a conference win.
Sophomore quarterback Adam Banach took his first snaps as a varsity starter but looked like a seasoned upperclassman at times during his 228 total yards performance.
The Panthers led just 6-0 at the break on a 1-yard touchdown run by Daulton Hubler, but Banach took it in from 17 yards out with 8:52 to go in the third quarter for a two-score lead. Ky Hamilton added a two-point conversion run and PCHS was on top 14-0.
The Bulldogs had possession in Panther territory late in the third, but on third down and three from the Pinckneyville 30, Sharvel Austin put it on the ground for the Panthers' Trevor Rice to recover.
Banach broke a 30-yard run on the next play down to Sparta's 2-yard line and Chase Lazenby went in for the first of his two touchdowns with 2:14 to go in the third quarter.
On the kickoff, Sparta couldn't come up with the short kick and Zach Hester picked it up for the Panthers at the Bulldogs' 23. Runs by Banach and Justyn Rushing set up Banach's second TD, a 3-yard run followed by a two-point conversion up the gut for a 28-0 PCHS lead.
The Panthers made a habit on kickoffs of keeping it short, and keeping it away from the Bulldogs' big playmakers.
"(Sparta has) got some big play people and we did a nice job of holding them," said Pinckneyville head coach Tod Rushing. "They kind of shot themselves in the foot a few times, and we talked about that, I told them if you keep them away from the big play and make them earn it, teams will make mistakes."
Banach was 4-for-7 passing for 46 yards and connected with three receivers - J. Rushing (1 catch, 30 yards), Hamilton (1-3) and Dalton Bathon (2-13). He averaged 7.9 yards per carry (23-182) and had a longest run of 66 yards.
"I told (our players), give him a big hand, he had a great game," T. Rushing said of his young quarterback.
Hamilton also topped 100 yards rushing, finishing with 124 on just 5 carries. Rushing (11-59), Hubler (5-40) and Lazenby (9-33) also contributed to the Panthers' 438 yards on the ground. Bathon averaged 26 yards on his six kickoff returns.
Lazenby, Brandon Edwards and Kelton Lively each had 7 tackles for the PCHS defensive unit. Four of Lively's were for a loss. J. Rushing added an interception.
Pinckneyville (3-5, 1-4) closes out the 2012 season in week nine at Dupo. The Panthers finished in fourth place in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference Mississippi Division as a result of beating fifth-place Sparta.