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| NEWS-TRIBUNE PHOTO BY CHRIS TODD
Above, CWL-Corwith players celebrate their 42-0 win over Janesville in an Eight-Player Class State Quarterfinal game in Corwith last Friday night. With the win, the Panthers advance to play Lenox in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls Friday. |
CWL gridders advance to state semis
By CHRIS TODD
Of the News-Tribune
CORWITH - The CWL-Corwith football team has already made good on its first-ever playoff appearance.
The Panthers rolled into a date at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls and the state semifinals here Friday night with a 42-0 thrashing of sixth-ranked Janesville.
The Eight-Player Class quarterfinal game was played in intermittent slow flurries with gusty winds and a muddy track.
“With a muddy field, it really favored our big guys up front,” said CWL-Corwith coach Ken Burrington, whose team will meet Lenox in the state semis Friday at the UNI-Dome.
“This is a big thing for our three communities,” he added. “(Friday night), we saw people here that have never been to a CWL football game before. The support from our fans and community has been terrific and I know our kids all say it's played a role in our success.”
Burrington was talking defense after the game - with good reason.
The Panthers played on short fields all night, as eight drives started in Janesville territory. Some of the short fields came via turnovers - Janesville fumbled away possession five times - but just as many started because Janesville was stuffed at the line of scrimmage at every turn.
“Our defense is really coming together at this point in the season,” said Burrington. “We've learned to trust each other, but it just took time.”
Offensively, the Panthers used a mix of the run and pass effectively to negate the poor field conditions. They ran for 137 yards and quarterback Tommy McGregor threw for 58 yards on six of ten completions.
Two of McGregor's passes went for touchdowns, both in the first half.
After CWL scored its opening touchdown on a 2-yard sneak by McGregor, the senior quarterback threw for two scores to wideout Luke Wilhite, with one going for eight yards and the other for 14.
“Those routes were there all night,” said McGregor. “I thought a real key was our offensive line. It controlled things up front all night.”
CWL took a 28-0 lead into halftime after McGregor ran in again, this time from 1-yard out.
In the second half, CWL stayed aggressive on both sides of the ball. The Panthers added single scores in each of the last two quarters, including a 1-yard run by Tony Rasmussen in the third frame and a 42-yard scamper by sophomore Jason Carroll in the fourth.
Meanwhile, Janesville had as much difficulty offensively in the second half as in the first. Janesville didn't have a first down until early in the fourth quarter, and that was its only first down of the game.
“Our big guys up front just dominated,” said Rasmussen. “The thing about the guys in our line is that they aren't just big. They're all mobile for their size and good athletes. On a field like tonight, we felt they might be a real advantage for us and they were.”
Following the game, the Panthers gathered at midfield and gave a salute to their fans. For Rasmussen, the victory was something he says he'll never forget.
“I'll always be able to look back and say that it was our senior class that was the first to make the playoffs and get to the dome,” he said.
In other Class Eight-Player quarterfinals Friday night, Armstrong-Ringsted blitzed North Sentral Kossuth 49-14, top-ranked Stanton pounded Coon Rapids-Bayard 42-17, and Lenox upended East Union-Afton 32-6.
State semifinals will be played at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls on Friday.
The Panthers (10-1) open semi- round action at 10:30 a.m. with a matchup against Lenox. At 1:30 p.m., Armstrong-Ringsted (11-1) takes on Stanton (12-0).
Lenox (11-1) opened substate play with a 57-0 rout of Harmony-Farmington. In the first round of the state playoffs, they pounded Thornburg-Tri-County 44-8.
Story created Nov 11, 2008 - 20:10:32 CST.
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