FOOTBALL: Panthers trounce Union Grove

Panthers’ Austin Norton, who has seen more action since the injury of Robert Brent, escapes a Wolverines’ defender in a Sept. 8 Southern Lakes Conference clash at Waterford. Norton rushed for more than 100 yards to lead Wilmot in rushing Friday at Union Grove (Rick Benavidez/The Report).

Wilmot scores 55 first half points

By Jason Arndt
Editor

The first six minutes was all Wilmot Union High School needed, and the rest was a pounding, as the Panthers trampled host Union Grove 55-10 Friday.

Wilmot, coming off a shutout victory against Elkhorn last week, scored all 55 of its points in the first half.

According to coach Keiya Square, whose team improves to 3-1 in Southern Lakes Conference play, the Panthers entered with a plan of attack.

“On both sides of the ball, I think we had a solid game plan going in and we knew how to attack them,” Square said.

The attack started early, courtesy of a Zach Christopherson 5-yard touchdown run to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing possession, Union Grove quarterback Alec Spang saw a steady pass rush which forced him into his first of five interceptions to Panthers’ Jacob Gerzel, who returned the ball for a 57-yard touchdown to bolster the Wilmot lead to 14-0.

Gerzel finished with four of the Panthers’ five interceptions.

Spang, who completed 9 of 24 passes for 131 yards, posted the Broncos’ first score on a 24-yard field goal with 4:07 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers, however, closed out the first quarter with an A.J. Frisby 6-yard touchdown with 52.1 seconds left.

Norton pounds Broncos
Wilmot junior Austin Norton, who finished with 15 carries for 164 yards, sparked the Panthers second quarter with four touchdowns.

By the 5:31 mark in the second quarter, Norton scored on runs of 1, 35 and 17 yards to propel the Panthers to a 41-3 lead.

On the kickoff, the Panthers experienced their only blow of the contest, when leading receiver Cullen Ketterhagen was knocked down on the sidelines by three Union Grove defenders.

Ketterhagen, whose injury left the crowd silent and concerned, departed the contest in an ambulance.

As paramedics came to Ketterhagen’s aid, Square acknowledged it was difficult to digest, considering their history together.

“It was probably one of the worst feelings you can have, you hate seeing one of our kids, any kid for that matter get hurt on our sideline,” he said. “Cullen is a hurdler for me in track, so I have a pretty good close relationship with him and to see him down in that situation is one of the worst feelings as coach.”

In spite of Ketterhagen’s injury, the Panthers continued to attack, starting on defense when Tanner Peterson intercepted Spang for a 27-yard touchdown to give Wilmot a 48-3 edge.

Norton, who eclipsed 100 yards for the third straight game, capped off the 55-3 first half with a 12-yard touchdown.

Norton’s contributions left Frisby impressed with the junior rusher.

“He has done huge things for us, he has done spectacular, and hopefully he keeps it up in the next few weeks,” Frisby said.

The Broncos added their lone touchdown in the fourth quarter, where Tommy Hempel had a 12-yard run.

Union Grove, which lost on homecoming, can only move forward after Friday’s loss.

“You just take it, and move on, they came to play today and we didn’t show up,” Union Grove coach Craig McClelland said. “They got a lot of momentum early and they were reaching from the start.”

Union Grove dropped to 1-3 in SLC.


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