JEFFERSON — Jackson County head coach Billy Kirk has said his team will have to continue to play at the level it did in an opening-week victory in order to keep winning.
Following a 42-7 drubbing of Sonoraville on Friday night at Panther Stadium, the Panthers were able to do just that and start the season 2-0 for the first time in more than 25 seasons.
The Panthers’ victory was marred by multiple personal fouls and physical play, culminating in Sonoraville coach Chuck King and his team refusing to shake hands with Kirk and the Panthers following the game.
"The kids played well and I hated that we had to do that at the end after all the personal fouls and having kids ejected," Kirk said. "Him (King) not wanting to shake my hand is fine. My job is to protect my kids and I tried to do that tonight."
Despite the drama, the Panthers hit the 40-point mark for the second consecutive week, led by quarterback Alex Crawford, who threw three touchdowns in the game while completing 12 of 21 passes for 121 yards.
"The coaches and the offensive line did a great job tonight," Crawford said. "Whenever we went three-wide, they would leave our second man uncovered so we would just split that with a post pattern."
Crawford’s first touchdown pass came on the Panthers’ opening drive when he connected with Jonathan Holton for a 23-yard score. The touchdown capped off a 65-yard drive in which Crawford clicked on 4-of-5 passes.
Sonoraville answered with a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Ryan Bess, but struggled for most of the night.
Panthers running back Michael Pesaresi was a surprise for the Panthers, rushing for 89 yards on 14 carries and scoring the second of the Panthers two first-half rushing touchdowns. The first, a 57-yard run by Charles Smothers, gave the Panthers a 14-7 lead with 2:26 left in the first half. A fumble recovery by Panthers linebacker Kelly Moates set Pesaresi up for his score less than a minute later.
The Panthers’ defense came up big again late in the second half when defensive lineman Josh Spanks intercepted a Ryan Bess pass and returned it 44 yards for a score as the Panthers took control of the game 28-7.
"I saw their offensive line blocking down, so I knew it was a screen," Spanks said. "I just went up and caught it off the tip and trucked into the end zone. I was just thinking before the game that the only thing I wanted to do was score a touchdown before I graduated. It felt good to make it happen tonight."
The Panthers also excelled in special teams as kicker Garrett Daglis converted 8-of-8 extra-point attempts, and pinning Sonoraville deep with his punts.
"We knew at halftime if we came in and did what we needed to do they would start to crack," Kirk said. "Our kids stepped it up in all areas and we did a good job of shutting them down. Now we have two weeks to prepare for Prince Avenue and we still have a lot of work to do and a lot of stuff to fix."