For the week of September 11 - 17, 2002

Panthers (2-0) dampen Murtaugh’s hopes 38-12

Bright lights, drenching rain, 
big Homecoming win

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The Carey Panthers (2-0) turned on the lights at Derrick Parke Memorial Field, and then they turned them off on visiting Murtaugh.

Destry Simpson rushed for 191 yards in Carey’s 38-12 Homecoming win over Murtaugh Friday. Express photo by Willy Cook

In a slippery, slogging rain, the Panthers punched out the Red Devils 38-12 to win their home opener last Friday night. It was the first-ever night game in Carey, played under four new light standards.

"Even though the weather was bad, it was a great way to open our season underneath the lights in front of our home crowd," Carey coach Lane Kirkland said.

The second-year coach said he was happy with the way his team responded, despite tough conditions.

Kirkland said, "The wet weather caused us to grind it out more than we had planned. We couldn’t juke as much as we wanted, but the holes were there when we needed them.

"I thought our front line did a great job."

Slogging it out in the trenches, Blake Surerus, Kole Peck, Bryson Ellsworth, John Saili and Stephen Jurgensmeier cleared the way for Destry Simpson, who rushed for 191 yards on 19 carries (10.1). Shawn Hennefer and Robbie Ellsworth gained almost 100 yards each.

"Our backs had a great day and Destry was unreal," Kirkland said.

Shawn Hennefer (left) and Stephen Jurgensmeier look for yardage against Murtaugh. Express photo by Willy Cook

Carey received the opening kickoff and a 20-yard return by Simpson gave the Panthers a first down on their own 31-yard-line.

QB Hennefer (12-for-17 for 93 yards) looked smooth as syrup and was just as sweet, delivering back-to-back strikes to Simpson and Saili.

Two plays later, Ellsworth rumbled 12 yards to the 39-yard line in Murtaugh territory.

Simpson gained considerable ground on an inside handoff to set up a 17-yard strike from Hennefer to Jurgensmeier. It gave Carey first-and-goal inside the 10-yard line.

On a quick slant Hennefer drilled Robbie Ellsworth who made it into the end zone for six points.

Simultaneously the rain came down and the floodgates opened—on the field and on the scoreboard.

Ginger Bingham was Carey’s 2002 Homecoming queen on damp night. The royalty included Kiri Adamson, Ana Ruiz and Rayanne Hennefer. Express photo by Willy Cook

Carey ground its way to paydirt, ringing up a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter on gut-busting runs by Hennefer and Simpson, who rambled 60 yards down the left sideline.

Murtaugh chalked up some yardage of its own, scoring on rushes of 50 and 70 yards, but both touchdowns were the result of broken plays and Carey was generally in control from start to finish.

"We got caught up in trying to find the ball and got passed up," Kirkland said. "But our defense stepped up in the second half."

Spearheaded by linebacking corps of Simpson (19 tackles) and Randy Lundergreen (17), Carey held Murtaugh scoreless after the half.

Carey was still hard at work on both sides of the ball, however, tacking on two touches in the third on runs by Hennefer and Ellsworth.

Panther linemen Kole Peck and Bryson Ellsworth put the final exclamation point on the game.

With less than a minute remaining, the pair drove Red Devil quarterback Trent Cummings seven yards into the end zone for a two-point safety and the final score of 38-12.

"For our front line to get a safety after playing four quarters was just amazing," Kirkland said. "They wanted it bad."

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.