The Pattonsburg Panthers, over the middle two quarters of Friday night’s District 3 eight-man championship game against Worth County, outscored the Tigers 54-14. As it turned out, that advantage proved to be important for Pattonsburg down the stretch, as a furious Worth County rally pulled the defending state champions within 12 points, before a time-draining drive by PHS gave the Panthers a 74-62 win, in action broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7.
Worth County came out of the gates strong, with an Ayden Gladstone nine-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion scamper giving the Tigers an 8-0 lead 2:45 into the opening quarter. Pattonsburg’s high-octane offense answered quickly, as senior quarterback Steven Willhite, on the first of his 10 touchdowns on the night, scored on a 6 yard run, with a two-point pass to Carter Crone tying the score at 8 just 27 seconds following the Worth County tally.
Worth County, on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Gladstone, took a 14-8 lead with 4:09 to go in the opening quarter, with Pattonsburg tying the score with 4 seconds remaining the quarter on a 68 yard scoring strike from Willhite to Patrick Cowley.
The Panthers took their first lead of the night with 7:24 to go in the first half on a nine-yard scoring pass to Crone, with the two-point conversion strike to Dakota Eaton giving the hosts a 22-14 edge. The following onside kick, with Pattonsburg’s players waiting for the ball to travel 10 yards, was grabbed by Worth County’s McIntyre and returned 33 yards for a stunning touchdown, with the missed PAT leaving PHS up 22-20.
Pattonsburg, from there, grabbed hold of the advantage, was back-to-back scores, as Willhite connected with Cowley on scoring strikes of 3 and 27 yards, pushing the lead to 34-20 with 5:45 to go in the half. Two more touchdowns would be scored in the final minute of the half, as Worth County’s Gladstone took in a 1 yard plunge, while, in a dramatic final play of the half, Willhite and Dakota Eaton combined on a 50 yard passing play, with the score at the break sitting at 40-28.
The third quarter was all Panthers, with Pattonsburg scoring 28 unanswered points, on four scoring passes from the arm of Willhite, pushing the scoreboard to a seemingly comfortable margin of 68-28.
However, the fourth quarter saw zero quit in Worth County, as the Tigers scored on a 40 yard run by Gladstone, a 30 yard interception return by McIntyre, a 30 yard run by Gladstone, a 6 yard run by Gladstone, and with 3:51 to go, an 18 yard interception return by McIntyre. Those scores were split by a 20 yard Pattonsburg scoring pass to Brett Emig with 9:45 remaining.
Up 74-62, but with momentum squarely with Worth County, the Panthers shifted their offensive focus in the game’s final drive from the arm of Willhite to the legs of Cowley. With Cowley replacing Willhite at quarterback, Pattonsburg was able to gain three straight first-downs on the ground. As Worth County’s time outs dwindled, the Panthers were able to effectively keep the ball away from the surging Tiger offense, holding on for the win.
Pattonsburg, now 10-1 on the season, will travel to Southwest Livingston High School in Ludlow, Missouri on Saturday afternoon to meet the Wildcats, a 56-38 winner against North Shelby in the District 2 championship game. That game from Ludlow can be heard on Hot Country Z 101.7, with pregame at 12:30 and kickoff at 1 o’clock on November 23rd.
In the other two eight-man district finals played on Friday night, the Drexel Bobcats hammered Appleton City for the District 1 title, 65-6, sending the ‘Cats northward for a state semifinal showdown in Mound City on Saturday at 1. Mound City knocked out the #1 ranked East Atchison Wolves for the District 4 championship on Friday night, 48-26.
The South Harrison Bulldogs are into the Class 1 state playoffs, winning District 8 on Friday night with a 30-13 win over the Grand River Conference rival Putnam County Midgets. South Harrison will travel to Mid-Buchanan High School (Faucett, MO) on Saturday afternoon at 1 o’clock to play the KCI Conference’s Dragons, the champions of District 7. The Dragons held off upset-minded Penney High School to win on Friday night, 20-14. The game between South Harrison and Mid-Buchanan will be broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3 this Saturday, with pregame at 12:30.
Here are the other area scores from Friday, November 15, 2019:
Class 1, District 6:
South Callaway 35, Brentwood 20
Class 1, District 5:
Marceline 23, Sweet Springs 14
Class 2, District 8:
Lathrop 29, Maryville 28
Class 2, District 7:
Summit Christian Academy 35, Higginsville 14
Class 2, District 6:
Clark County 30, Palmyra 26
Class 3, District 8:
Savannah 49, Chillicothe 7
Class 4, District 8:
Platte County 23, Lincoln Prep 8
