Harlan JV, freshmen beat Panthers
Harlan claimed a sweep of Creston/O-M JV and freshman squads, winning 19-12 with a late touchdown Monday night at home against the Panther junior varsity, after taking a 44-7 freshman victory Friday night in Creston.
Both Creston/O-M teams fell to 3-2.
Josh Reed had the best night offensively for the Panther freshmen Friday, gaining 59 yards rushing with a touchdown. Kyle Wynn was 3-of-7 passing for 61 yards, with Wyatt Thompson making two catches for 36 yards. Brandon Lee kicked the extra point.
Defensively, Thompson had 10 total tackles. Chris Foster had a pass interception to go with three tackles.
“In the first quarter we came out swinging and we had them on their heels, driving down the field,” Panther freshman coach Jon Thomson said. “We had some costly errors offensively that killed our drives. It came down to a special teams battle in the first half, and they won the battle.”
Thomson said Harlan showed a polished passing attack.
“I hand it to Harlan they had some really nice receivers and could catch the ball,” Thomson said. “We don’t take this loss as a step back, but as an opportunity to learn and get better. We look forward to traveling to Glenwood this week and getting after things.
See-saw game
The Panther JV scored on Alex Nielsen’s 8-yard touchdown run and a 34-yard pass play from Brandon Phipps to Bryce Briley.
“We struggled right out of the gates,” coach Kevin Cooper said. “We gave up an early defensive touchdown. We fought through all the adversity that the night provided and we were still able to lead 12-7 at halftime. A few miscues cost us valuable field position in the third quarter. Harlan had a field goal and a safety. Give credit to Harlan, they scored a touchdown with just over 30 seconds left in the game to lead to end the game.”
The Panther JV hosts Glenwood next Monday.
Freshmen
Harlan 44, Creston/O-M 7
RUSHING — Josh Reed 59 yards, Kole Lovely 8 yards, Jesse Johnson 6 yards.
PASSING — Kyle Wynn 3-7 for 61 yards.
RECEIVING — Wyatt Thompson 2-36, Chris Foster 1-27.
TACKLE LEADERS (solo-assists) — Thompson 6-4, Seth Maitlen 1-5, Ryan Brown 0-4, Zack Smith 0-4, Josh Reed 2-2, Brock Clayton 2-2, Brady Clayton 2-2, Foster 2-1.
INTERCEPTIONS — Foster 1.
Junior varsity
Harlan 19, Creston/O-M 12
SCORING SUMMARY
Cr — Alex Nielsen 8 run (2-pt conversion failed)
Cr — Bryce Briley 34 pass from Brandon Phipps (2-pt conversion failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Alex Nielsen 10-35, Brandon Phipps 5-30.
PASSING — Phipps 9-21 for 186 yards.
RECEIVING — Alex Nielsen 4-72, Christian Groumoutis 3-92, Bryce Briley 1-34, Levi Eblen 1-18..
TACKLE LEADERS — Seth Maitlen 9, Corey Rathe 7, Jesse Rathe 5, Levi Eblen 4.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES — Corey Rathe 2.
SACKS — Trevor Luther 2, Jesse Rathe 2, Corey Rathe 1, Trevor Davis 1.
