By JOHNNY MCMAHAN
Special to The Leader
The Benton Panthers showed signs of improvement, but so did the Jacksonville Red Devils 1-1, as they took their first victory, 34-10, at C.W. Lewis Stadium on Friday.
“Our kids didn’t quit,” Jacksonville coach Rick Russell said. “They kept playing, we got behind at the beginning but we just kept plugging.”
Jacksonville out-ran and out-threw the Panthers and seemed to get the breaks when it counted.
“I thought Jacksonville played a good game and when they needed a big play, they got it,” Benton coach Scott Neathery said.
“And boy that really helped them and that seems to be our back-breaker right now.”
The Red Devils got three touchdown passes from quarterback Logan Perry with D’Vone McClure coming down with two of the touchdown receptions.
Benton’s first possession ended in an interception and Jacksonville had to punt after six plays. Benton then drove from its 20 to the Red Devils 48 before Grant Jones had an excellent punt that rolled to their opponents’ 7.
The Panthers’ defense held and on the next two plays Zach Stuckey and Carson Holloway combined to sack Perry for a 12-yard loss.
After an incomplete pass, Jacksonville attempted to punt but Taylor Schmidt recovered a bad snap on the Red Devils 15 that led to the Panthers’ only score.
Four plays later quarterback Grant Jones passed two yards to Brooks Balisterri with 2:19 left in the first period. The kick for the extra point by Sean Carrigan was good to make it 7-0.
“We got beat in all phases of the game,” Neathery said. “We need to get back and evaluate everybody and every position and just see where we are.”
Benton had numerous Jacksonville passes go through its hands for near interceptions all evening.
Despite miscues, Jacksonville came back on its next possession and drove 80 yards in twelve plays and capped the drive with a 31-yard pass from Logan Perry to Jamison Williams with 11:22 left in the half. The kick for the extra point by Aaron Shore tied it 7-7.
Ryne Keene intercepted a pass at his shoe tops on the Red Devils 42 that led to a Panthers field goal. The Panthers drove to the Jacksonville 7, but the Red Devils held for no gain.
On fourth down, Carrigan kicked a 25-yard field goal with 4:30 left in the half for a 10-7 Panther lead. The drive was kept alive by a pass from Jones to Balisterri that covered 14 yards and Tamario Beaugard had a 15-yard rushing gain.
Jacksonville went ahead for good when it scored twice in the last two minutes of the half to take a 20-10 lead going into the locker room.
The Red Devils marched from their 20 to the Panther 32 in less than three minutes before Shaquille Davis raced to the end zone with 2:03 left in the half. The drive was aided by a roughing the kicker penalty. Shore missed the extra point kick to leave it 13-0 Jacksonville.
Dylan Harris and Connor Tate had a sack for four yards but an 11-yard completion to McClure was short of the first down, but the roughing penalty gave new life to the Red Devils.
After holding the Panthers to three and out, another Jones punt put the ball on the Jacksonville 27. Four plays later, Perry passed to McClure for a touchdown with: 34 left in the first half. Shore’s extra point was good for the 20-10 lead at halftime.
