FOOTBALL: Pinckneyville defense shuts out Redbirds
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Much like their week one victory over Red Bud, Pinckneyville didn't make winning look pretty this past Friday night in West Frankfort, losing two fumbles and an interception. However, the end result is what matters, and despite the three turnovers the Panthers improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2006 with a 14-0 final score.
"I think the biggest factor in the game was I thought we wore them down," said PCHS head football coach Tod Rushing. "I think they got real tired, and if we wouldn't have made the mental errors, we have maybe four more scores on the board and this is one where you're putting kids in at the end."
Quarterback Bryant Shute was picked off deep in Redbird territory to cut the Panthers' first drive short, but the Pinckneyville defense wasn't letting West Frankfort anywhere near the end zone. In fact, Frankfort failed to cross midfield in the entire first half, finishing with just over 100 yards of total offense for the contest.
"I thought the defense really needed commended," Rushing said. "Up until late in the game when we went to a different defense because we knew they were going to throw it, I think (Frankfort) had four yards at halftime. The defense did a great job."
The Panthers' second try for six was successful. Starting at their own 48-yard line, Pinckneyville ran twelve plays and capped off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run by Cole Kellerman, then Evan Chapman added his first of two extra points for a 7-0 lead with 51 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Penalties and a fumble near the goal line ended the next two drives for PCHS, and a few hail-mary attempts near the end of the first half came up empty as the Panthers carried a seven-point lead to the locker rooms.
Shute returned Frankfort's first punt of the second half to the Redbirds' 43-yard line, setting up a five-play drive that featured Shute and C. Kellerman until Daulton Hubler came in for a 3-yard touchdown with 6:37 left in the period.
In all, Shute, C. Kellerman and Hubler combined for 340 of the Panthers' 383 rushing yards in the game. West Frankfort had only 54 yards on 22 rushing attempts.
"They're both big, strong backs, and they're faster than people think they are," Rushing said of his fullback tandem. "(C. Kellerman) can move pretty good for a 240-pound kid and he hits the line extremely quick. He's probably one of the quickest fullbacks to the line that I've ever had."
When the Redbirds finally did make it into Panther territory, they didn't stay for long. Defensive lineman Keegan Kellerman pounced on a fumble at the Pinckneyville 48-yard line with under three minutes to play that sealed the victory.
"The credit goes to Coach (Todd) Thomas," K. Kellerman said of his team's defensive effort on Friday. "He got us ready, he knew what they were going to do. We just did exactly what he said, that's why we had such a good game on defense."
The offense had a great night as well, sans the turnovers and penalties. Shute had 139 yards rushing on 23 carries to lead the way, just one yard better than C. Kellermans' 138 yards on 18 attempts.
Hubler (11-63), Josh Hale (8-25), Justyn Rushing (2-13) and J.D. Connor (2-5) also carried the ball for PCHS. Connor led the Panthers in rushing versus Red Bud in week one, but was nursing a minor injury and held out of the offensive unit for much of the game.
Shute completed one pass for 29 yards to Hale.
While the early-season turnovers and penalties are a concern, Rushing is quick to point out that the problems his team has are fixable.
"When you've got (nearly) 400 yards offense, and you're sitting here looking at it and saying 'why 14 points,' well, it's mental errors," Rushing said. "I consider some fumbles mental errors; those kinds of things, and jumping offsides are correctable errors. It's not like we can't move the ball, as an offense we should probably have close to 100 points scored and they've only got 37."
The Panthers (2-0) remain on the road in week three, taking on fellow-unbeaten Benton (2-0) this Friday at 7:00 p.m.
"I think, especially offensively, they're going to be one of the better teams in the south," Rushing said of the Rangers. "They've got all those skills kids back that they had last year and they run a good scheme."
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