By CHRIS RANDAZZO
of The Gazette
The Stevens Point Area Senior High School football Panthers rushed out to 2-0 season record, beating Escanaba, 21-13, on Friday, Aug. 31.
The Panthers' win was fueled by a gutsy effort from its young offensive line, dynamic defense and solid play from quarterback Jake Jahnke.
The offensive line was a big question mark for the Panthers going into the season because it had no returning starters, but the group has played well so far.
The team hasn't allowed a sack yet this year, and SPASH coach Pete McAdams said the line was instrumental in converting a key fourth down late in the win over Escanaba.
"I'd really like to give credit to our offensive line on that fourth-down conversion. When you go on fourth and one and you get it it's because of the surge you get from the line," he said.
Jake Jahnke's nearly mistake-free play also played a big part in the win. Jahnke was only 5 of 13 passing, but he threw a pair of long touchdowns to senior Nate Olsen (36 and 20 yards) and didn't throw any interceptions. McAdams said he was happy with Jahnke's improvement and the fact that Jahnke protects the ball.
SPASH's defense, which McAdams said he expected to be strong, again played well on Friday. Senior defensive end Jake Nantell recovered a fumble in the third quarter that led to an Eric Napiwocki touchdown and senior linebacker Chad Erspamer had a late interception that sealed the victory for SPASH. "As a team we're very pleased with our defense as a whole," McAdams said.
McAdams said that facing a physical team like Merrill would help them in upcoming weeks.
"We knew we had to tested in a physical sense because we have Merrill (on Friday, Sept. 7) coming up and they're a physical, power-I football team. It couldn't have worked out better for us the way the schedule went because Escanaba was a great test for us," he said.