ATLANTIC – About the only group of people who could keep up with the Creston offense Friday in its 39-0 win at Atlantic was the group working the yardage and down markers.
Because they had to.
Panther pass plays effectively moved the ball downfield on the first possession of the game an in the first half.
To start, Creston had a third-and-11 play at the Atlantic 37. A pass play to Brennan Hayes took the ball to the Atlantic 7. Moments later, Tyler Riley hauled in a touchdown pass to give Creston a 6-0 lead with 7:47 left in the quarter. Despite missing a 2-point conversion, it would be a lead Creston would never be threatened to lose.
Atlantic’s first possession had a third-and-9 play. Panther Austin Evans intercepted a pass setting up the Creston offense again in Trojans territory on the 24. Creston moved the ball inside the 10 as the Creston had a thrid-and-5 play on the 7. Atlantic thwarted the drive with an interception in the endzone.
But the shift in momentum was not productive for the home team. Forced to punt, Creston started a possession on its 36. First play from scrimmage, Hayes took off for 64 yards for a score. Another missed 2-point conversion play put Creston up 12-0 with 2:50 left in the quarter.
Hayes would finish with 12 carries for 122 yards.
“This was a big game, it’s a district game,” said Creston head coach Brian Morrison. “You got to play your best game no matter who your opponent is.”
That culture set up the first quarter.
“The game plan was good in all areas. The kids executed at a high level.”
Creston had chances early in the second quarter to extend the lead. Creston had a third-and-5 on the Atlantic 29. A penalty moved the Panthers back 5 yards but the third-down play ended in a sack and forced a punt.
Atlantic’s next drive had its hits and misses in a literal sense. The Trojans benefited from a late hit penalty on the quarterback putting the ball on its 36. But the drive then went backward forcing a punt. The punt missed the mark giving Creston the ball on the Atlantic 40. Another first-play on offense ended with Hayes in the end zone after a 40-yard pass play with 7:35 left in the half. A successful 2-point conversion play gave Creston a 20-0 lead.
“We’ve been preaching we don’t care who the opponent is. We’re out do do what we want to do. Our kid are playing with tremendous effort and confidence and I think it’s showing,” Morrison said.
The Trojans were able to move the ball on the next possession moving it from their 22 to their 48. But the Panther defense forced a punt putting Creston on its own 14 with 3:51 left. The Panthers could only get to the 20 before punting giving Atlantic the ball on the Creston 45. The Trojans fumbled the first play recovered by Creston’s Jack Walter on the Atlantic 43 with 2:32 left in the half.
Hayes’ runs pushed the ball to the Atlantic 17 with 1:40 left. A third-and-4 pass play to Hayes gave Creston a first down on the Atlantic 9. Brandon Briley caught the touchdown pass with :23 left to give Creston a 26-0 lead at the break.
Hayes also led the team in receiving yards with six catches for 124 yards. Creston quarterback Cael Turner finished 19-25 in the air for 285 yards and five touchdown passes. Will Bolinger had six tackles for Creston.
Atlantic started the second half on its 23 and moved to the 41 before being forced to punt. Creston’s first possession of the second half started its in 22. Hayes was still a productive part of the Creston offense getting a first down to the Panthers ‘45. He would then receive another pass to get a first down on the Atlantic 20.
The air game was still being used in the red zone as Briley took the ball to the Atlantic 1. Panther Josh Schaefer caught the touchdown pass. A missed 2-point conversion play gave Creston a 32-0 lead with 4:05 left in the quarter.
Forcing another Atlantic punt, Creston started a possession on its 32 with two minutes left in the quarter. Turner moved the ball with his legs, rather than his arm, eventually picking up a first down on the Atlantic 38. Hayes caught another pass to get to the Atlantic 12. Schaefer would catch the last score for Creston with 1:08 left in the quarter from 13 yards out. A successful extra point made the score 39-0, initiating the running clock for the rest of the game.
Dante Hedrington led Atlantic on the ground with 11 carries for 40 yards. Quarterback Zayden Parker was 2-9 passing for 22 yards. Colton Rasmussen had one catch for 12 yards.
Creston takes its 6-0 record on the road Friday to Knoxville. Knoxville is 2-4 losing 43-0 Friday at Nevada. Atlantic falls to 2-4.
The unblemished record for the Panthers is something Morrison said he never thought about at this point in the season, before the first game.
“I expected us to be a good football team. I expected us to grow,” Morrison said. “There are factors as there are teams we haven’t seen before or haven’t seen in a couple of years in non-district. We are starating to see the benefits.”
Morrison said there were moments from the previous week’s win over Harlan that did not repeat itself vs. Atlantic.
“We played behind the sticks and it hurt some drives,” he said about the Harlan game. “We told the kids that. We played a clean game tonight. We have to keep improving in that area.”
Score by quarters
Creston 12 14 13 0 – 39
Atlantic 0 0 0 0 – 0
C A
Rushing: 26-177 24-82
Passing: 21-27-1 2-9-1
Passing yards: 305 22
Total yards: 482. 104
Fumbles 0 1