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Panthers defeat Trojans with big fourth quarter
In eight-man football
Football Field

NORTH CRAWFORD - The North Crawford Trojan eight-man football team was playing tight with the Kickapoo Panthers last Friday night–until the fourth quarter that is.

Then, a tight football game became a rout and the Panthers downed the Trojans 44-12.

“Our defense was much better for three quarters,” Trojan head coach Jeremy Fradette said. “Missed assignments, communication and mistakes on offense led to our struggles in this game. 

“Kickapoo-LaFarge did a great job of containing our run game,” Fradette noted. “We have a lot of work to do to correct our mistakes and sharpen our skills.”

Kickapoo scored first on four-yard run by quarterback Spencer Vanek to take a 6-0 lead.

However, the Trojan’s Stephen Munson answered minutes later with a 13-yard touchdown run to tie the score 6-6 and that’s how the first quarter ended.

The Panthers scored again in the second quarter, when Vanek threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Steele Johnson. With the two-point conversion, it made the score 14-6 going into halftime.

Immediately in the second half on their first possession, the Trojan’s Stephen Munson ran for a 54 -yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed and North Crawford trailed Kickapoo by just two points 14-12.

Just minutes later, Vanek completed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Bryar Ledman. With the two-point conversion, it made the Kickapoo-22 North Crawford -12. That’s the way the third quarter ended with the Trojans trailing the Panthers by 10 points.

Then it happened. Kickapoo scored three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter to close out the game 44-12.

Vanek started the scoring with nine-yard touchdown pass to Teagan Arndt. To make it 28-12.

Then, Varnek completed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Steele Johnson. With the two-point conversion, it made 36-12.

The final score came on 45-yard touchdown run by Bryar Ledman. With the two-point conversion it made it 44-12.

For the game, North Crawford had 230 yards of total offense and Kickapoo had 400.

The Trojans were 0-5 passing with one interception. The Panthers were 9-14 passing for four touchdowns with no interceptions.

The Trojans gained 230 yards rushing on 42 attempts and Kickapoo gained 176 yards rushing on 46 attempts. Each team lost one fumble.

Munson gained 154 yards on 18 attempts and Raiden Steele gained 70 yards on 12 attempts

Vanek led Kickapoo in rushing with 96 yards on 14 carries and Ledman gained 67 yards on nine carries.

On defense, North Crawford was led in tackling by Raiden Steele with 11.5, including seven solo tackles, while Jace Roys had 8.5 tackles with six solo tackles and Satchel McClurg had 6.5 tackles with four solo tackles.