Panthers Pull Away From Rich Hill as Brody Langfitt Steps Up

Pattonsburg trailed Rich Hill 30-24 at the half of Friday’s game, but got a big night from Brody Langfitt receiving to pull away to an 82-48 win. Steven Willhite was 37 for 53 with three picks, but was otherwise solid, throwing for 464 yards. The Panthers were shorthanded without Brett Emig (ankle). They were still without Carter Crone. But for the second time this year, they plugged someone new at Wide Receiver and kept right on going. This time, it was freshman Brody Langfitt, who had six catches for 115 yards, including a 65 yard jaunt.

Patrick Cowley and Dakota Eaton put up their usual monster numbers, with Cowley getting 15 catches for 158 yards and Eaton getting 13 for 172 yards. Blocking machine Kaden Koch had four catches for 38 yards. And for the second time this year, Willhite found running lanes open, getting 13 carries for 180 yards. He added four rushing touchdowns to go with his seven passing scores.

Rich Hill, despite their two win record, has been in all of their games this year. They tried to keep it on the ground to keep the ball out of Willhite’s hands. But Pattonsburg was able to overcome their three turnovers by forcing six fumbles. Dakota Eaton had two fumble recoveries, while Brody Langfitt, Collin Briggs, Kaden Koch, and Brandon Hamilton all had one.

Without Crone sniffing out plays, Pattonsburg had three players step up big in the tackle charts. Kaden Koch had 18 tackles, Dakota Eaton had 15, and Patrick Cowley 14. Brody Langfitt had 5, Kaden De Jong, Collin Briggs, and Clark Adler had 4, while Jacob Zerbe, Brandon Hamilton, and Kason Mathes all had 3.