Published: October 11, 2008 01:37 am            

Panthers use joint effort in win over Brownsboro

The Westwood Panthers knew they wanted to start district the right way. Thanks to a joint effort by the offense and defense, the Panthers smashed their way to a 51-22 romp over Brownsboro Friday night at Panther Stadium.

“The guys played hard and now we’re 1-0 in district,” Westwood head coach Kevin Anderson said. “It’s a good feeling.”

The Westwood offense didn’t waste any time getting started as the combination of D.J. Morrow and Tevin Watson powered the ball down the field on the opening drive before Watson handed the ball off to Morrow for the 1-yard touchdown within the first two minutes of the game.

It was Morrow’s first game in over a month because of injuries, but none of that showed as the senior rushed his way to 106 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns.

“It feels good to start off district with a win,” Morrow said. “We came out and played as a team and never gave up.

“We just kept on playing.”

The Panthers (1-0, 3-3) got the ball right back when a Brownsboro player fumbled the kickoff, but Westwood couldn’t convert, throwing an interception on the Bear 37-yard line.

The defense, which managed to shut out Brownsboro the entire first half, held the Bears’ next drive to three-and-out, giving the Panthers possession once again.

On the third play of the drive, Morrow escaped a few tacklers and scampered 52 yards into theend zone, but the drive was called back when a Westwood player committed a block in the back.

The Panthers would settle for a field goal after that by Tyler Dillon on his first field goal attempt of the season, making the game 10-0.

After another three-and-out by the Bears, Westwood surged ahead 17-0 as Watson completed two passes for 55 yards, ending on a touchdown catch by Cameron Shead.

Brownsboro got the ball back and attempted to get on the board, using eight plays to drive the ball to Westwood’s 8-yard line, before getting stopped on third and goal. The Bears opted for a field goal, but the kick was blocked.

Needing a rally, the Bears took the ball 50 yards down the field before handing the ball to running back Cameron Warren, who ran in the 1-yard touchdown. After a missed extra kick, Brownsboro trailed 17-6.

The Bears’ defense began to find its rhthym, stopping Westwood in the third quarter and scoring again when Zach Bailey completed a 65-yard touchdown pass to Warren again, and the duo of Bailey and Keith Johnson converted the two-point pass for a 17-14 deficit.

With time running out in the third quarter, Morrow began a drive with a 1-yard run, followed by Watson’s 10-yard completion to Cameron Shead and ending with a 53-yard catch by Shead to widen the gap to 21-14.

That’s when Westwood’s offense exploded, as the Panthers had three straight touchdown runs by Morrow, Watson and Seth Gilkey to secure the win.

Westwood had 271 yards of offense on the ground, but 191 of those yards came in the second half.

“We looked really good the first half, and we kind of hit a slow spot in the third quarter,” Anderson said. “But we bounced back and got some breaks.”

Quarterback Watson was nearly flawless in the air, completing 15-of-18 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. He was also the leading rusher with 15 carries and 131 yards.

“Tevin and D.J. helped each other out and did a good job leading the offense,” Anderson said. “I was proud of the way we managed to take care of the football.”

The win was the first district win for the Panthers in at least four years.

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Sally Sexton can be reached via e-mail at sports2@palestineherald.com





Brownsboro (0-1, 4-2) 0 0 14 8 — 22

Westwood (1-0,3-3) 7 10 7 27 — 51



Westwood — DJ Morrow 1 run (Tyler Dillon kick)

Westwood — Dillon 34 FG

Westwood — Tevin Watson 12 pass to Mark Reed (Dillon kick)

Brownsboro — Cameron Warren 1 run (kick failed)

Brownsboro — Warren 65 pass from Zach Bailey (Keith Johnson pass from Bailey)

Westwood — Cameron Shead 53 pass from Watson (Dillon kick)

Westwood — Morrow 1 run (Dillon kick)

Westwood — Watson 45 run (Dillon kick)

Westwood — Seth Gilkey 2 run (Dillon kick)

Westwood — Aaron Stanhope 35 interception return (kick failed)

Brownsboro — Jon Jon Thompson 11 pass from Ryan Owens (Owens run)



Brownsboro Westwood

First downs 17 8

Rushes-yards 39-271 22-113

Passing yards 206 208

Total yards 477 321

Comp-Att-Int 15-18-1 16-28-1

Punts 1-39 4-42

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards 4-25 7-70



INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING — Brownsboro: Warren, 8-45; Sir’Shea Bowman, 2-1; Bailey, 10-52; Owens, 1-(-2); Thompson, 1-17. Westwood: Morrow, 17-106; Shead, 2-3; Watson, 15-131; Domanick Turner, 2-19; Scott Starr, 1-2; Gilkey, 2-10.

PASSING — Brownsboro: Bailey, 12-24-1-157; Owens, 4-4-0-51. Westwood: Watson, 15-18-1-206.

RECEIVING — Brownsboro: Warren, 5-55; Johnson, 3-55; Tristain Warren, 1-3; Seth Martin, 3-44; Ryan Cawthon, 1-17; Adam Dinger, 1-11; Bret Ralson, 1-12; Thompson, 1-11; Westwood: Shead, 6-89; Turner, 4-44; Reed, 3-27; George White, 2-46.

        

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