Junior quarterback Jordan Dilworth and junior lineman Garrett Lee enjoyed productive nights for the unbeaten Carey Panthers during Friday's 52-6 Sawtooth Conference North football victory at Mackay.
Dilworth (8-for-10, 253 yards) tossed three scoring passes and rushed for two more as defending State 1A Division king Carey (8-0, 4-0 league) clinched the top North Division seed in the upcoming Sawtooth Conference eight-man playoffs with its usual balance on offense.
Of its 55 touchdowns this year, 23 have been on runs and 23 have been on passes. Six players have scored 32 or more points led by senior Charlie Rivera with 15 TDs, 100 points.
It was Carey's 15th consecutive win over two seasons. Coach Lane Kirkland's Panthers piled up 147 yards rushing and 253 passing—while stifling Mackay's offense. Seniors Rivera and Baley Barg scored two TDs apiece, and senior Dillon Cenarrusa tallied one.
Lee, a 6-2, 215-pound lineman who does much of the Panther interior line heavy lifting with juniors Glen Andrews and Francisco Gamino, led the stingy Carey defense with 15 tackles and 10 assists. He also caught a two-point conversion pass from Dilworth on a tackle-eligible play late in the game.
With the loss, Mackay (3-5, 2-2) fell out of playoff contention. Mackay's Caden Betzer (115 yards rushing) pushed across the only Miners TD in the fourth quarter, then Barg ended the league game on the 45-point mercy rule with a two-point conversion run after the seventh Carey touchdown.
Carey, averaging 49.3 points per game, has yielded only six TDs all season on defense. The Panthers have now scored seven or more TDs in six consecutive games this fall.
On Thursday, Oct. 27, Carey winds up its regular-season league schedule with a 5 p.m. Sawtooth game against North Valley Academy (0-5, 0-4).
The North Division second seed will be Dietrich (5-3, 4-1), a 48-12 winner over Clark County (2-6, 1-3) last Friday. Clark County hosts Mackay this Friday. Richfield (2-6, 2-3) wrapped up its campaign with a 36-32 win over North Valley Friday.
Carey athletic director Lee Cook announced this week that the Panthers will officially open their state title defense with a home game against the South Division runner-up North Gem Cowboys (3-5, 3-2) on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. at Derrick Parke Memorial Field.
The Castleford Wolves (6-2, 5-1 South) wrapped up the South top seed last Friday with a 36-14 win at North Gem.
Unless the Rockland Bulldogs (4-3, 3-2) manage to pull off a huge upset in their final game at Castleford Friday, the third-place team out of the 13-team Sawtooth will likely be the winner of Friday's South Division game between host Murtaugh (4-3, 3-2) and Lighthouse Christian Academy (5-3, 3-2).
And the third-place Sawtooth finisher will travel to the Boise-area champion in the first round of the eight-team State 1A Division 2 playoffs.
CAREY Line Score
Carey 52, Mackay 6
CAREY 20 16 8 8 52
MACKAY 0 0 0 6 6
SCORING
1st half
CAREY—Charlie Rivera, 18-yard run; (6-0 C)
CAREY—Charlie Rivera, 37-yard pass from Jordan Dilworth; (12-0 C)
CAREY—Baley Barg, 45-yard pass from Jordan Dilworth (Chance Chavez run); (20-0 C)
CAREY—Jordan Dilworth, 24-yard run (Dillon Cenarrusa run); (28-0 C)
CAREY—Baley Barg, 32-yard interception return (Dillon Cenarrusa, pass from Jordan Dilworth); (36-0 C)
2nd half
CAREY—Jordan Dilworth, 18-yard run (Garrett Lee, pass from Dilworth); (44-0 C)
MACKAY—Caden Betzer, 1-yard run; (44-6 C)
CAREY—Dillon Cenarrusa, 45-yard pass from Jordan Dilworth (Baley Barg run); (52-6 C)
KEY STATS CAREY MACKAY
Total plays 27 53
1st downs, total 14 9
Rushes, yards 17-147 40-106
Yards per carry 8.7 2.7
Completions, passes 8-10 3-13
Completion percentage 80% 23%
Passing yards 253 65
Yards per completion 31.6 21.7
Intercepted by 2 0
Sacks by, yards lost 1-7 0-0
Total offense 400 171
3rd down efficiency 1-2 5-14
4th down efficiency 1-1 3-6
Penalties, yards 3-20 1-5
Yards per punt 0.0 17.3
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Carey
Rushing—Jordan Dilworth 3-48, 2 TD; Luis Garcia 6-33; Tori Alvarez 3-31; Charlie Rivera 3-30, 1 TD; Chance Chavez 2-5.
Passing—Jordan Dilworth 8-10, 253 yards, 3 TD.
Receiving—Baley Barg 4-124, 1 TD; Dillon Cenarrusa 2-62, 1 TD; Charlie Rivera 1-37, 1 TD; Chance Chavez 1-30.
Interceptions (2)—Baley Barg 1 with a 32-yard TD interception return; Jack Cenarrusa 1.
Defensive sacks (1)—Chance Chavez 1-7.
Punt returns—Baley Barg 1-43.
Tackles/assists—Garrett Lee 15/10, Charlie Rivera 11/6, Chance Chavez 11/5, Baley Barg 6/2, Glen Andrews 4/4, Jack Cenarrusa 5/2, Francisco Gamino 3/3, Matt Whitworth 3/1, Jordan Dilworth 1/1, Gunner Thompson 1/1, Tori Alvarez 1/1, Dillon Cenarrusa 1/0, Patrick Baird 1/0.
Carey Football Composite 2011
TOTAL SCORING
Opponents 14 6 8 14 42 (5.3)
Carey 142 124 50 78 394 (49.3)
RESULTS (8-0 overall, 5-0 home, 3-0 away, 4-0 Sawtooth Conference North)
Aug. 26 (Home) Carey 38, Oakley 16
Sept. 2 (Away) Carey 20, Raft River 0
Sept. 9 (Home) Carey 46, Challis 0
Sept. 23 (Home) Carey 66, Richfield 0
Sept. 30 (Away) Carey 54, North Gem 6
Oct. 5 (Home) Carey 58, Clark County 0
Oct. 14 (Home) Carey 60, Dietrich 14
Oct. 21 (Away) Carey 52, Mackay 6
SCORING TD CONV PTS.
Charlie Rivera 15 5 100
Baley Barg 11 5 76
Jack Cenarrusa 9 2 58
Chance Chavez 6 6 48
Jordan Dilworth 6 5 46
Dillon Cenarrusa 4 4 32
Luis Garcia 2 0 12
Christian Zarate 1 1 8
Tori Alvarez 1 0 6
Adrian Alvarez 0 1 2
Patrick Baird 0 1 2
Garrett Lee 0 1 2
Note: Carey also scored on a safety.
Touchdown passes—Jordan Dilworth 21, Chance Chavez 1, Nate Adamson 1. Conversion passes—Jordan Dilworth 9, Nate Adamson 1. Notes—Carey has scored in 26 of 28 quarters....Carey has successfully made 31 of 52 conversions (60% success rate)....Carey has scored 55 TD—23 on runs from scrimmage, 23 on passes, 7 on defense, 2 on kickoff or punt returns.
Carey cheerleader Sarah Purdy gets a lift with a lovely mountain backdrop during Friday’s Panther visit to Mackay for Sawtooth Conference eight-man football. Courtesy photo by John Peck
