WP Pigskin Squad Still Searching For First Win
~ by Trevor Phipps ~
Last week, the Woodland Park Panthers football team traveled to Frisco to take on the Summit High School Tigers.
The Panthers played a tough game and kept the score close, but were unable to come out with a victory. As a result, the Panthers suffered their third loss in a row 38-30.
But unlike their two previous losses, this one was close, with the Panthers taking the initial lead.
The Panthers look good early in the game when the won the coin toss and received the kickoff. To start the game, Alex Malone put the Panthers on the scoreboard with a kickoff return touchdown making the score 6-0.
The first quarter started with two back to back touchdowns from each team but the Panthers missed both extra point attempts making the score 14-12 early in the game. The Tiger boys scored late in the first quarter giving them a 21-12 lead to start the second quarter.
The Tigers then capitalized off a Panther fumble and got another touchdown putting the team up 28-12. Then, with two minutes to go in the first half, Panther quarterback Michael Shrum connected with Bryson Cox for a 65-yard touchdown pass. The Panthers went into halftime facing a 28-18 deficit.
Early in the second half, the Panthers stopped the Tigers turning them over on downs on the Tiger 42-yard line. The Panther boys drove the ball down the field and scored a 9-yard touchdown pass making the score a close 28-24.
Then, during the last part of the third quarter and most of the fourth the Tigers continued to dominate. The team scored a field goal and another touchdown that went unanswered and put them up on the board 38-24. With four minutes to go in the game the Panthers drove into the end zone with a one-yard run from quarterback Michael Shrum. The Panthers then hustled and got back into Tiger territory just before the game was over but they were unable to score.
The Panthers played better on offense last week then they had before as they were able to make some big plays. However, the Panther defense struggled to keep points off of the scoreboard for the third week in a row. The Panthers had better focus on stopping both the run and the pass as they prepare this week.
Panther head coach Joe Roskam said he is proud of his team and what they have done so far. This year his team only has a handful of seniors and is one of the youngest varsity teams that has played ball for Woodland Park. Roskam also mentioned that his team is “tiny” and that they only have one player that hits over 200 lbs. on the scale.
“Our kids are battling against odds,” Roskam said. “The kids are positive and they really work hard.” Roskam said he is confident that the team will improve. “Michael can really throw the ball and we have had a lot of good plays on both sides.” He feels that currently his team’s biggest struggle is on special teams.
Next week the Panthers come back home for a two game stretch. This Friday, they will probably have a rather tough time battling the 3-1 Battle Mountain Huskies. But, hopefully Coach Roskam will fine tune the offense and get the defense and special teams in shape so that they can give the tough Huskies a run for their money.
Colorado State Rams Get Rammed
Ok, so last week I totally screwed up and did my favorite team a disservice!
The deadline was creeping up slowly and my Rammies were down 27 to 9 so I did the whole assume thing. Well, we all know what they say about assuming. And yes I totally made an a** out of myself! It’s sad because being my favorite team I called the game as a loss too soon because they scored three late touchdowns and ended up winning. Local Ram fans were very vocal about how I screwed up on reporting my favorite team. And honestly I can’t blame them!
However, we can all admit that the Rams so far this year have not been a team you can rely on to win. They lost to a low rated Hawaii team, then got stomped by their rival Buffs and then got points put up on them early in the game last week. And unfortunately this week they continued their streak of just being not that good of a team. I know I butchered last week’s Rammie report but this week I waited until the final score came over the crawl line. And it was definitely not an amazing comeback like they pulled off last week.
Last week the Rammies got stomped during their trip to tropical Florida… I promise for sure this time! The final score was 48-10, ouch! So I may have been wrong about last week but let’s face it the Rams still are not a contender for the Mountain West title this year.
Next week they come back home and take on the 2-0 Illinois State Redbirds. The Rams better show up on offense and defense in order to have a chance at their second win of the year.
Colorado Buffaloes Win Big; Remain Undefeated
Man, too bad I am not a Buffs fan because this year they look hot! They currently sit at 3-0 after their huge 45-14 win against New Hampshire at home last week.
The Buffs seem to be dialed in this year at least as they enter their bye week next week. After their break they take on UCLA. The Buffs are the one Colorado team you should probably watch this year. It’s about time, as Colorado has suffered years of losing records on the football field. Not this year.
