It was an easy night for the Carey Panthers (2-0), trouncing the visiting Shoshone Indians 54-6 on Friday night at Derrick Parke Memorial Field in Carey and bettering their overall record with two straight wins and no losses.
"I'm really happy," said a smiling Panther Head Coach Lane Kirkland. "This is a good start to the season." The win was the second 50-point game for the Panthers this season.
Sophomore Conor Rivera led the Panthers in rushing and is fast becoming a key to the potent eight-man offense. Rivera ran for 152 yards on 12 carries Friday night. Overall, Carey rushed for 348 yards on 37 carries.
On defense, senior defensive end Bryan Hill and junior linebacker Cody Baird led with nine tackles each. Baird also had one fumble recovery and has been a consistent all-around player for the Panthers, contributing to offense as well. Against the Indians, he ran for 87 yards on eight carries while also executing indispensable blocks for Rivera.
No one quite expected the Indians to fold so easily, said assistant coach Lee Cook. But by halftime, the game was already 36-0 thanks to first quarter punt returns: a 75-yard return from junior Brad Hunt and a 50-yard dash to the endzone by Baird.
"It's about time our special teams contributed," said Kirkland about those early, game-deciding scores.
The Panthers have long prided themselves on playing both sides of the ball with equal fervor. Many players go both ways in the classic iron-man scheme. Tyler Cook, who passed for one touchdown and 79 yards on six completions, was also a leading tackler with eight stops.
On the receiving end of Cook's arm, senior Tad Green nabbed four passes for a total 58 yards receiving.
Junior Allen Peck also rushed for a touchdown in the second half, taking advantage of holes you could drive a truck through, thanks to the Carey offensive line.
Especially effective on the line was senior guard Devon Simpson.
The Shoshone offense was more or less hapless against a strong Panther defense, though they did break through with a touchdown run by quarterback Zach Shull early in the second half, making the score 42-6.
It was too little too late for the Indians, though, as Carey continued their assault. Peck ran 52 yards for his second touchdown and, with an insurmountable 45 point Panther lead, the referees enforced the "mercy rule" with ten minutes left in the game.
For Carey, the game was a momentum builder as the experienced squad heads into their Friday night homecoming against Sho-Ban With eight seniors, the Panthers have the confidence to hit hard and take charge of the game when they want to.
Carey 54, Shoshone 6
CAREY. 14 22 12 6 54
Shoshone 0 0 6 0 6
SCORING
1st half
CAREY—Brad Hunt 75 yard punt return; (pass failed, 6-0 Carey)
CAREY—Cody Baird 50 yard punt return; (Baird run 14-0 Carey)
CAREY—Tyler Cook 14 yard run; (pass failed, 20-0 Carey)
CAREY—Connor Rivera 75 yard run; (Tad Green pass from Cook, 28-0 Carey)
CAREY—Hunt pass from Cook (Cook run, 36-0 Carey)
2nd half
CAREY—Allen Peck 8 yard run; (run failed, 34-0 Carey)
SHOSHONE—Zach Shull 9 yard run; (run failed 34-6 Carey)
CAREY—Cook 2 yard run; (pass failed 42-6 Carey)
CAREY—Peck 52 yard run; (game called)
TOTAL CAREY YARDAGE—348 yards rushing, 79 yards passing for total offense of 427 yards. Defensively: Carey 1 fumble recoveries, 3 sacks.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Carey
Rushing—Connor Rivera 12-152, 1 TD; Cody Baird 8-87, 1 TD; Allen Peck 7-84, 2 TD; Tyler Cook 9-61, 2 TD; 4; Bryan Hill 1-3
Passing—Tyler Cook 6-79 on 11 passes, 1 TD.
Sacks—Tadd Green 1; Allen Peck, 1; Blake Whitby, 1. .
Fumble recoveries—Cody Baird 1.
Punt Returns—Brad Hunt 75 yard return, TD. Cody Baird 50 yard return, TD.
Tackles—Bryan Hill, 1 solo/8 assists; Cody Baird 4 solo/5 assists; Brad Hunt 5 solo/4 assists; Allen Peck 3 solo/5 assists; Devin Simpson 1 solo/6 assist; Tyler Cook 4 solo/3 assist; Tadd Green 2 solo/3 assist; Brian Adamson 2 solo/2assist; Blake Whitby 3 solo/1 assist; Ben Neilson 0 solo/2 assist; Mark Adamson 0 solo/2 assist; Scott Ellsworth 1 solo/1 assist; Nathan Foster 0 solo/1 assist; DJ Simpson 0 solo/1 assist.
