This was the game that was supposed to bring Pattonsburg back down to earth. King City had buried North Andrew the first game of the year. They had played respectably against Stanberry both in the jamboree at Worth County and in Cameron even though they lost both times. Collin Breckinridge was a load to bring down, and with a pair of receivers at his disposal and his ability to read defenses, this was supposed to be the game that King City got back on track before a tough game against Worth County Friday.
Everything started off perfectly for the Wildkats as Pattonsburg elected to receive, only to lose the ball on a fumble on their first play from scrimmage Friday. King City was clicking, driving down the field, and moving in to score, penetrating to the Pattonsburg 5. But then, it was as though someone had unleashed a black cat and sent it scurrying along the King City sideline. All of a sudden, Pattonsburg, which was supposed to have no defense according to conventional wisdom, made a goal line stand and the Panthers got the ball back at their own seven.
From there, Steven Willhite aired it out to Cameron Jones, who scored from 73 yards out and the rout was on. Brett Emig caught the two point conversion pass. Pattonsburg proceeded to score 32 points in the period. Trevor Ireland caught a 15 yard pass from Willhite, Brett Emig caught a 5-yarder from Willhite, Willhite ran one in from five, and Willhite threw another strike to Trevor Ireland from 22.
King City made a comeback bid in the second as Hunter Abney scored from three yards out to make it 32-6. But then Cameron Jones caught a 28 yard pass from Willhite and Willhite added a two yard run to make it 48-6 before Collin Breckinridge finally got untracked with a pass to Kagen Barnett to make it 48-14 at the half.
The Wildkats had shown some fight after getting behind in plenty of games, but on fourth and nine on their second half opening drive from their own 35, King City went for it and Barnett was wide open for six. But Breckenridge’s pass was too far and they gave up the ball on downs. Pattonsburg marched down the field as Patrick Cowley caught a couple of passes, Brett Emig caught one, and Cameron Jones caught one as the Panthers got to the 12. Finally, Steven Willhite threw a strike to Trevor Ireland over the middle for six. Cameron Jones caught the two point conversion and Pattonsburg was up 56-14.
The avalanche continued as Pattonsburg attempted an onsides kick down the right side of the field and the green shirts recovered it at the King City 25. It only took them three plays to take advantage as Willhite scrambled for a score with 8:22 left to make it 62-14. King City elected to play on, triggering the running clock.
Barnett finally got untracked for King City catching one for 13 to the Pattonsburg 29, but then Cameron Jones intercepted a tipped pass and ran it back to the 25. The reserves took over and were forced to punt, but a great kick by Dakota Eaton pinned King City on their own 11. Breckinridge fumbled while trying to scramble on their first play from scrimmage and Cameron Jones recovered it on the 5. Backup quarterback Kaden DeJong was sacked, but then threw a 9-yard strike to Brett Emig for a score. Gage Sperry caught one in traffic for the extra points to make it 70-14.
King City rode Parker Muff’s back for a pair of scores against the reserves in the fourth, striking from 12 and from 54 yards. But Kaden DeJong aired one out to Dakota Eaton, who juked a defender and outran everyone for a 69 yard score for the Panthers.
For Pattonsburg, Steven Willhite continued to put up unreal numbers similar to what Koby Reynolds did for North/West Nodaway a few years ago. He completed 28 for 31 passes for 393 yards. Kaden DeJong completed 5 of his 6 pass attempts for 75 yards. Willhite rushed 10 times for 59 yards.
Five different Panthers had four or more catches, and each one of them had at least one catch of 18 or more yards. Patrick Cowley had 8 catches for 71 yards, Brett Emig 8 catches for 58 yards, Cameron Jones 7 catches for 145 yards, Dakota Eaton 5 catches for 121 yards, and Trevor Ireland 4 catches for 60 yards. Only Ireland will graduate after this year, meaning Pattonsburg will have more time to grow and develop.
For Pattonsburg, Cameron Jones led the team with 8 tackles. Patrick Cowley had 7, Carter Crone 6, Brett Emig, Gage Sperry, and Gavin Garrett 4 each, Dakota Eaton and Blake Hulett 3 each, Trevor Ireland, Lane Huitt, and Skylar Todd 2 each, and Connor Ireland, Kaden DeJong, and Clark Adler 1 each.
Coach Chase Roberts said that his team played well in all phases of the game after the initial fumble and credited the offensive line for Willhite’s performance; they allowed no sacks while he was quarterback. While the Panthers showed the ability to score at will last year, Roberts said that all the time in the weight room paid off defensively and credited Carter Crone, Trevor Ireland, Cameron Jones, Patrick Cowley, and Lane Huitt for making some strong defensive plays and credited his assistant, Gavin Roberts, for putting them in position to succeed. “We’ve gotten a lot more physical this year, and we like to hit people,” Coach Roberts said. “They shocked themselves with how well they played.”
The reaction of the King City folks said it all – they had shellshocked looks on their faces, and their skipper, Micah Breckinridge, kept the team on the field for about 30 minutes after the game. And King City now has to go to Worth County, who has not lost a Homecoming tilt since 2004. But while some teams go into the tank after a loss, others bounce back. Last year, Pattonsburg itself, after a 62-0 halftime loss to Worth County, bounced back to score 94, 88, and 70 points in their next three games as they ripped off a three game winning streak.
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