The Tug Valley Panthers scored early and often on the way to a 49-14 win over the visiting Westside Renegades on Friday night at Bob Brewer Stadium in Naugatuck.
The Panthers (6-2) got on the scoreboard in the 1st quarter as freshman Bryson Elia returned a Westside (2-6) punt 77 yards to the end zone and a 6-0 lead. Adam Slone then capped off a 4-play 44-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run to make it a 12-0 Tug Valley lead at the close of the 1st quarter.
Tug Valley kept the pressure up in the 2nd quarter when quarterback Jaxon Nenni-Mills connected with Ashton Davis for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Slone then added his second touchdown of the day from 5 yards out for a 24-0 advantage at the half.
Westside closed the gap in the 3rd period when quarterback Kadien Vance found Ivan Clay who raced into end zone for a 60-yard catch and run. Vance then ran in the conversion score for a 24-7 Panther lead. That would be as close as Westside would get, however.
Tug Valley would extend the lead on a 5-yard Elia touchdown run. Caleb Totten’s PAT kick increased the lead to 31-7. Nenni-Mills then hit Riley Damron on a 51-yard scoring stricke and a 37-7 Panther advantage. Nenni-Mills then connected with Davis again on a 30-yard touchdown pass to make it 43-7 heading into the final quarter.
The Panthers got its final score when Elia threw a pass to Gavin Fitzpatrick for 30-yard score. Westside’s Brody Cline got a 20-yard touchdown run to close out the scoring and a 49-14 final score.
Nenni-Mills led the Panther offense with 11-of-21 passing for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had 1 carry for 8 yards. Elia was 2-of-3 passing for 46 yards and 1 touchdown.
Slone led the Panthers on the ground with 69 yards and 2 touchdowns on 9 carries. Elia had 36 yards and 1 touchdown on 8 carries. Austin Smith had 2 carries for 15 yards.
Davis led Tug Valley’s receivers with 77 yards and 2 touchdowns on 4 receptions. Damron had his lone catch for 51 yards and a touchdown. Brady Brewer had 4 catches for 36 yards. Fitzpatrick had 1 catch for 30 yards and 1 touchdown. Tanner Urconis had 1 catch for 25 yards. Hubert Marcum added 1 reception for 16 yards.
For Westside, Vance was 8-of-25 passing for 149 yards and 1 touchdown.
Cline had 4 carries for 69 yards and 1 touchdown. Dale Bledsoe had 18 yards on 11 carries.
Clay led all receivers with 125 yards and 1 touchdown on 2 catches. Kyler Kenneda had 2 catches for 16 yards. Hunter Cline and Gabriel Lester each had 1 catch for 5 yards. Hunter Lester added 1 catch for 1 yard.
Tug Valley came into the game ranked 15th in Class A. They will next play 11th-ranked Man (6-2) at 7:30 pm on Friday at Bob Brewer Stadium in Naugatuck.
Westside will host Mount View (3-5) on Friday. The opening kick is set for 7:30 pm in Clear Fork.
Photo Courtesy of Karen Watts
