Tug Valley’s Preston May and Westside’s Kadien Vance had a good old fashioned shootout. But in the end it would be May’s 6th Ranked (Class A) Panthers who pulled away in the second half to defeat Vance’s Renegades, 49-27, at Westside.
The Panthers (7-1) struck first in the opening minutes when May connected with Cameron Slone for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Aiden Bosserman’s PAT kick made it a 7-0 Tug Valley lead.
Westside (3-4) answered back when Vance completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Austin Bishop to tie the game at 7-7. The Renegades took the lead, 14-7, when Vance found Bishop again on a 57 yard touchdown pass.
Tug Valley fired back in the second quarter as May found Slone again for a 50 yard scoring strike and a 14-14 score.
Vance helped Westside regain the lead when he found Kyler Kenneda on a 29-yard touchdown pass to give the Renegades a 21-14 lead.
The Panthers answered before the end of the half on a 2-yard Bryson Elia touchdown. The PAT kick was blocked, however, and Westside held a 21-20 lead at the intermission.
Tug Valley came out firing on all cylinders in the third period. May found Slone for another touchdown pass, this time from 6 yards out. Buddy Marcum then caught a conversion pass from May to give the Panthers a 28-21 lead. May then found Marcum again, this time for a 44-yard touchdown pass and a 35-21 lead. Tug Valley increased the lead to 42-21 by the end of the third quarter on a 1-yard Elia run.
The Panther lead grew to 49-21 in the fourth quarter on another 1-yard Elia touchdown run.
Westside got the game’s final score when Vance found Ashton Reed on a 48-yard touchdown pass.
For the game, May completed 14-of-26 passes for 260 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Elia was Tug Valley’s leading rusher with 119 yards and 3 touchdowns on 25 carries. He also caught 1 pass for 12 yards.
Slone led all receivers with 139 yards and 3 touchdowns on 7 receptions. Brady Brewer caught 3 passes for 53 yards. Marcum had 1 catch for 44 yards and 1 touchdown. Ashton Davis caught 2 passes for 12 yards.
Defensively, Austin Smith had a great game, recording 4 sacks and a fumble recovery. Elia and Gavin Fitzpatrick each had interceptions.
For Westside, Vance completed 21-of-44 passes for 261 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He also had 24 carries for 34 yards.
Bishop had 8 catches for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. Reed had 2 catches for 56 yards and 1 touchdown. Braxton Waldron caught 2 passes for 48 yards. Kenneda had 2 receptions for 40 yards and 1 touchdown. Kenneth Runyon had 6 catches for 24 yards. Jordan Elswick added 2 yards on 1 catch.
Defensively, Dakota Martin had an interception.
Tug Valley will next have a showdown at Man. The opening kick is set for 7:30 pm.
Westside will play at Mount View in a 7:30 pm contest.
