Sports

MONTICELLO DECLAWS PANTHERS

By Robert Shaw/SPECIAL TO THE COMMERCIAL
Saturday, November 22, 2008 1:51 AM CST

MONTICELLO —The Monticello Billies fought off a tough Magnolia Panther team Friday night at Hyatt Field 35-16 to advance to the Class 5A semifinals.

Monticello’s Brishen Mathews (above) catches a pass from Ty Ferrell and scores a touchdown. The Monticello defense (at right) stops the Magnolia running attack. Pine Bluff Commercial/William Harvey

Magnolia wasted no time in scoring on their first possession. A three-play, 67-yard drive resulted in a L.J. Berry 29-yard touchdown run.

The Billies (10-2) only needed one play to strike back. Senior quarterback Ty Ferrell hit senior wide receiver Brishen Mathews for a 65-yard touchdown putting the Billies up 8-7 with 8:25 left in the first quarter.

Magnolia (8-4) would score midway through the second quarter when quarterback Keshawn Devereaux broke a tackle and ran 19 yards for a touchdown putting the Panthers up 13-8.

Monticello would respond when Ferrell returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown giving the Billies a 14-13 lead with 6:52 left before halftime.

An 18-yard field goal by Panther place-kicker Jarryd Dempsey gave Magnolia the lead, which would be short-lived when moments later Ferrell outran four Panther defenders for a 70-yard touchdown run giving Monticello a 21-16 halftime lead.

Both teams were evenly matched offensively during the first half. Monticello racked up 228 yards to Magnolia’s 213.

“It was scary. They did just what they did on film,” said Monticello coach Van Paschal of the Panthers. “They ran the ball, they threw the ball, they mixed it up well.”

The Billies were without their star quarterback in the second half. Ferrell suffered a head injury on the last play of the first half. Ferrell, who had 76 yards passing, 106 yards rushing and an 85-yard kickoff return, accounted for all three of the Billies’ first-half touchdowns.

Late in the third quarter, junior backup quarterback Joe Carmical bulled his way in from 4 yards out to expand the Billies’ lead to 28-16 with 56 seconds left in the third quarter.

Any comeback chances were crushed late in the fourth quarter when Cedric Leonard ran for a 5-yard touchdown to put the Billies up 35-16.

The Billies will be back in action next Friday as they host top-ranked Helena-West Helena Central at 7:30 p.m.

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