Friday night, Huntingdon excused the host Panthers from the state football playoffs following a 35-6 quarterfinal victory, marking the third straight year that Lewis County has been eliminated by a Carroll County team.

In 2002 and 2001, McKenzie eliminated the Panthers; this time it was Huntingdon. But it wasn't pretty...that is until the Mustangs got going.

Now, Huntingdon, 12-1, will host Milan for the Class 2A semifinals. Kickoff is 7 p.m. Friday at Paul Ward Stadium. Tickets are $7 and fans are encouraged to get to the game early. Lewis County ends its season with a 12-1 mark.

Huntingdon broke free from its lethargic first-half performance and took over in the second half. One could point to Huntingdon's speed as a defining factor. One could single out the Mustang defense and be on the right track. But the difference maker in the game was the Huntingdon offensive line. The Mustangs fired off the ball, took over the line of scrimmage and, eventually, the game.

"We had a lot more intensity in the second half," said Huntingdon coach Mike Mansfield. "We scored a couple of touchdowns and got some cushion."

The Mustangs sputtered through the first half, gathering only four first downs and scant 24 total yards in the second quarter. A fumble and five penalties, two for mouthpiece infractions, and a lackluster effort up front was cause for concern. What changed things at the half? Perhaps a fire-and-brimstone address from the coach?

"No, we didn't have a rip-snorter; we just went back and talked about doing the little things right," Mansfield said. "In the first half, we didn't take advantage of field position and when we had it, we had turnovers or penalties. We just weren't playing very well."

Had it not been for a stellar defensive effort in the first half by the Mustangs, it might have been a closer game. The Huntingdon defense limited Lewis County to 10 yards at the half and three first downs.

"Our defense was going to be the key to the game," said Mansfield. "The defensive line was the key; Lewis County is run-oriented and we needed to keep the ball out of their hands. We got some good penetration tonight."

When it was said and done, Lewis County managed only 59 total yards. The Panthers benefited from more Huntingdon penalty yardage - 12 flags for 105 yards - than offense it mustered.

The Mustangs used a lot of different weapons in dispatching the Panthers. They scored with the pass, with the run, with the quarterback sneak and with an interception return. Phillip Weathers scored twice - a 58-yard TD reception from Adam Parish in the first quarter and a 36-yard dash in the third - and had 111 total yards. He ran for 53 yards in addition to his TD catch.

Senior Terrance Bell came on in the second half and finished with 18 carries for 110 yards. On his 15th carry, Bell reached the 2000-yard plateau for the season. He scored a TD on the next play. Parish scored from a yard out and Scott Hampton, battling nausea, returned an interception 59 yards for a TD.

It was a convincing second half for the Mustangs.

Huntingdon began its avalanche by marching 65 yards in 4:28 for a touchdown. Bell took it to the house from the 25. Mark Newsome added the second of his five PAT kicks and HHS had built a 14-0 cushion.

Lewis County managed only three offensive plays in the third and quickly relinquished possession again. The Mustangs then embarked on a quarter-straddling, 60-yard TD drive, ending in a 1-yard plunge from Parish with six seconds gone in the fourth.

A big sack by Desmond Townes on the next LC possession forced a punt and the Mustangs took over again. This time Weathers raced 36 yards and then basically walked into the end zone for a TD with 8:12 to play in the game.

Lewis County tacked on a cosmetic score just over two minutes later when Panther senior David Sharp found Nick Skelton for a 12-yard TD pass, capping a nine-play, 70-yard drive.

With 3:09 to play, Hampton picked off Sharp and rambled 59 yards the other way. Back home, folks were laying out the Milan welcome mats.

Huntingdon's Chris Donald had 10 carries for 46 yards. Dustin Skelton led the Panthers in rushing with two carries for 20 yards in a mop-up role.

Defensively, Townes and Brian Nellett each had six tackles. Townes had a pair of sacks. Scott Hampton had four stops and an interception. Hunter Hastings had four tackles. Newsome had three tackles and three pass break-ups.

The Mustangs are a game away from reaching the Blue Cross Bowl for the first time since the 1999 season.

H 7 0 7 21 35
L 0 0 0 6 6

FIRST QUARTER
H - 3:37 Phillip Weathers 58 pass from Adam Parish, Mark Newsome kick, 3 plays, 70 yards, 1:10
THIRD QUARTER
H - 7:32 Terrance Bell 25 run, Newsome kick, 9 plays, 65 yards, 4:28.
FOURTH QUARTER
H - 11:56 Parish 1 run, Newsom kick, 11 plays, 70 yards, 5:05.
H- 8:12 Weathers 36 run, Newsome kick, 5 plays, 37 yards, 2:05.
L - 6:04 Nick Shelton 12 pass from David Sharp, kick failed, 9 plays, 70 yards, 2:08.
H - 3:09 Scott Hampton 59 interception return, Newsome kick.

H L
Final Score 35 6
First downs 13 7
Yds. rushing 260 49
Yds. passing 63 10
Total Yards 323 59
No. of plays 51 42
Comp.-att.-int. 3-8-0 3-8-2
Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-1
Third down 4-10 2-11
Fourth down 1-1 1-1
Red zone 1-1 1-1
Possession 25:53 22:06
Punts-avg. 5-34 7-34
Penalties 12-105 5-65

McKenzie 34-TCA 20

The Lady Revels were dominant over Lady Lions of TCA in the second period although the game was close during the first half. Renee Crawley hit a shot early and then connected on the bonus shot for the three-point play to put McKenzie up 3-0. The Lady Lions led briefly at 9-7 and again at 13-11, but McKenzie came out in the second period to take the lead for good with a 7-0 run to lead 23-14. Freshman Anna Trull came off the bench to hit two three-pointers and led with 10 total points for the night. Crawley added nine, Courtney Wiggins hit a three and scored seven total points while Hope Wyder scored six and Brittany Russell was two of two at the line. Coach Dan Ridley quickly showed fans the depth he has by substituting freely with 10 players in the game and adding others as well. The Lady Rebels may well be a contender in their Class AA district this year.

McKenzie 34-TCA 39

Many of the Rebels have only had a week of practice due to the football playoffs. However, with three of the five starters having come from the football field to the hardwood, it was evident they are quickly regaining those skills and will be ready for this year’s games in short order. In all, Coach Larry Joe Smith played six young men who only recently were more concerned with the football.

The Rebels came out hitting well and led 10-0 before the Lions (who lost in the playoffs this past Friday night) got on the board. Once they found the basket however, the Lions steadily began to narrow the margin against them and after taking a 20-18 lead early in the second period, improved their margin. The ultimate success for the Lions was their proficiency at the charity stripe where they hit 18 of 20 for the night. The Rebels on the other hand were only 12 of 19. At one point, the Lions led 31-21 before the Rebels staged a come from behind surge of their own and narrowed the margin to a mere five by the end of the two periods of play. Scoring was fairly even for the Rebels with Daniel Duncan leading with 12 points, followed by John French with two three-pointers and 10 points, Clint Anderson with eight and Bryan Huffman with four.

West Carroll 17-Camden 24

The Lady War Eagles also began well and led early, but once the Lady Lions took a slight edge they did not allow it to slip away. The scoring in this match was not as great as in some of the other matches, but it was evident that the Lady War Eagles will only get better with competition.

The Lady War Eagles and Lady Lions were involved in an extremely physical match and were allowed to play at will. The Lady Lions had more opportunities at the charity stripe, hitting six of 11 opportunities while the Lady War Eagles only shot three and hit two. Senior Jessica Murphy led all scorers with 11 points for the night while April Gilliam added four and Debra Anders scored two, literally hitting the shot while seated on the floor. This year’s season should be an exciting one for the Lady War Eagles.

West Carroll 29-Camden 34

The War Eagles hit the first shot to take a 2-0 lead, but quickly found themselves trailing a good squad from Camden. A couple of technicals were assessed against the War Eagles which led to three points which might not have been scored otherwise. It was a good close game throughout as the War Eagles hung in and narrowed the margin every time the Lions attempted to take over. Kevin Taylor hit two shots from three-point range as he and Cameron Hunt led with eight points each. John Taylor hit a three-pointer and added seven and Xavier Webb scored six.
Huntingdon 31-Lexington 15

The Fillies took over where they left off last season, playing hard and scoring well in their segment of jamboree action. The first quarter they took a 15-6 lead and improved the margin to 31-15 by the end of the two-quarter “game.” Coach Mike Henson allowed all players to see some action. Ashlee Lockhart and Brooke Pritchard shared point guard duties while Crystal Fuller whose junior season ended with an ACL injury was back in full form and led all scorers by scoring 11 points for the night.

The Fillies scored evenly elsewhere with Lockhart and Pritchard both connecting from three-point range. Lockhart scored five total points and Pritchard had the three-pointer. Waneca Melton also added five for the night while Payten Butler, Chasity Strayhorn and Brittany Smith scored two each. Jessica Hilliard added one point.

Huntingdon 31-Lexington 39

The Mustangs were outgunned most of their contest by a good shooting squad from Lexington. With only seven players on the roster due to most still playing football, the Mustangs were playing without some of their returning starters and expected starters. One returning starter, John Thomas, was able to light up the board in the second period with four three-pointers. He ultimately scored 21 of the team’s 31 points with Blake Hampton adding 6 and Will Atkins and Garrett Meggs scoring two each. All seven players on the limited roster saw action and when football season ultimately ends and those players join the roster, the Mustangs should be a formidable opponent in district action.

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