Panthers suffer shutout

NASHVILLE — Of the nine drives Portland put together on Friday night, only three didn’t end in a punt.

Those three drives were no better as they all ended with either an interception, fumble or turnover on downs, and the Panthers finished with less than 100 yards of total offense in a 54-0 loss at Pearl-Cohn.

“We take our (region) games very seriously,” Pearl-Cohn head coach Tony Brunetti said. “That’s what gets you in the playoffs, and that’s what gets you home-field advantage.”

Pearl-Cohn (2-3 overall, 2-0 in Region 5-4A) used 17 plays to find the back of the end zone the first time and then scored on the first play of four of their next five drives to put Portland (2-3, 1-1 5-4A) down big at halftime.

Firebird senior quarterback Jimmy Ferrell picked the Panther defense apart, finding the back of the end zone with touchdown throws of 15, 19 and 34 yards. He finished the game 6 of 11 through the air for 160 yards.

“The quarterback is an unbelievable kid,” Portland head coach Greg Cavanah said. “He can get out of some bad situations and then make something happen. That’s just Pearl-Cohn. That’s what they do. That’s how they work.”

For everything Ferrell did on the offensive side of the ball, his lineman and linebackers matched it on the defensive side.

Panther senior quarterback Ethan Brummett completed just 5 of 12 passes for 42 yards, and the Panthers managed just 42 yards rushing after losing yards on several sacks or rushes for no gain.

“They’ve got athletes all over the field,” Cavanah said. “Some of their lineman, especially on their defensive line, could probably play their skill positions.”

However, Friday’s loss gives the Panthers something to learn from and build off as the season progresses.

“We’ve got to do our part now,” Cavanah said. “If we do our part, we may see him later on down the road.”

Portland hosts Lebanon on Friday.

Portland 0 0 0 0 — 0

Pearl-Cohn 14 33 7 0 — 54

PC - Vaughn 7 run (Clevenger kick); PC - Simmons 54 pass Ferrell (Clevenger kick) PC - Parker 53 run (Clevenger kick); PC - Vaughn 19 run (Clevenger kick); PC - Hunter 33 pass Ferrell (kick failed); PC - Vaughn 55 run (kick failed); PC - Simmons 14 pass from Ferrell (Clevenger kick) PC - Parker 21 pass from Shephard (Clevenger kick)

P PC

First downs 7 19

Rushes-yards 25- 56 32- 321

Comp-Att-Int 6- 14- 1 10- 16- 0

Passing yards 41 230

Fumbles-lost 1- 1 0- 0

Penalties-yards 3- 15 5- 34

RUSHING: P— Brummett 6- 1, Dixon 3- 5, Glasgow 1- 5, Johnson 9- 31, Meador 2- -3, Parker 4- 17. PC— Ferrell 6- 58, Hyde 1- 1, McLemore 2- 14, Melt 4- 27, Montgomery 6- 33, Parker 2- 54, Shepard 2- 1, Vaughn 10- 134.

PASSING: P— Brummett 5- 12- 1- 41, Meador 1- 2- 0- 0. CP— Ferrell 9- 14- 0- 209, Shepard 1- 2- 0- 21.

RECEIVING: P— Johnson 1- 9, Ladd 1- 22, Meador 1- 0, Parker 3- 10. PC— Hunter 2- 48, Montgomery 1- 22, Parker 3- 55, Simmons 4- 105.