The varsity football team boasted ten touchdowns in a home victory over Leto High school Oct. 12.
“We had a flow to us,” senior safety Isaac Sames said. “Both our starters and our backups really played up to the level we are expected to, and we kept things rolling no matter who was in.”
Senior wide receiver Leonard Parker started off the scoring just over two minutes into the game when he returned a Leto punt for touchdown. After the two-point conversion, the lead was 8-0.
On their second possession, a Leto pass was intercepted by Sames, giving him his first pick of the season.
“It was a good feeling,” Sames said. “It’s always a good feeling to have a play like that. I mean I would much rather have done it against a better opponent, but it was still a good play.”
After being set up in Leto territory, Parker rushed for his second touchdown of the night, making it 15-0 after the extra point by senior kicker Evan Passath was good.
Sophomore wide receiver Baldwin Barnes rushed for a touchdown, and then junior quarterback Tucker Gleason threw a touchdown to senior wide receiver Caleb Faris, making the score 30-0 with two minutes and 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
Then with 21 seconds left in the first quarter, sophomore running back Larry Jackson ran into the endzone for his first touchdown of the season, extending the lead 37-0.
“I just wanted to get in the endzone for the first time,” Jackson said.
Senior quarterback Jude May pushed the game further out of reach for Leto when he came in during the second quarter and threw a touchdown to junior wide receiver Frank Dolsak, making the score 43-0 after a failed two-point conversion.
“Frank is small, but he’s shifty and he’s fast,” senior quarterback Sam Sharf said. “He has really good hands. He’s a good target to throw to.”
After junior wide receiver Elijah Cook rushed for his first touchdown of the season, with three minutes and 20 seconds remaining in the first half, junior linebacker Ben Hestorff intercepted a Leto pass and returned it for a touchdown, making it 57-0.
“I looked at the receiver, and I saw the receiver coming, looked back at the quarterback, and he threw the ball to me,” Hestorff said. “Then I got some good blocks from my teammates, and I scored. It was really exciting.”
Just before halftime, senior tight end Michael Jaksec rushed for a touchdown, pushing the score to 62-0 at halftime.
The last score of the game was in the third quarter when Sharf came in and threw a touchdown to Dolsak, making the score 69-0.
“It was the first touchdown of my football career,” Sharf said. “It was fun. Our second offense was playing well. Everyone that was in was all excited because we rarely get that opportunity, so we just let it all loose in the endzone.”
Leto ended the almost third consecutive shutout for the Panther defense, when they scored a touchdown off an interception with two minutes left in the game, making the final score 69-6.