PANORA — Traditional powerhouse Van Meter scored once in each of the first three quarters to and silenced the Panorama offense in claiming a 20-0 win in a battle of 6-0 teams from Class 1A District 8.
The game was a physical scrap featuring both defenses, but the Bulldogs (7-0, 3-0) proved the stingier bunch, allowing just one pass completion on 17 attempts for only two yards while yielding just 47 rushing yards on 19 carries. The Panthers (6-1, 2-1) made only five first downs in the game and were 0-for-9 on third down conversions.
Van Meter fared only a little better, finishing with 80 passing yards and one touchdown while scoring twice on the ground. The guests rushed for 167 yards and two scores on 53 carries, over 100 yards below their per-game season average.
“Our team came out and battled against one of the top teams in the state,” Panorama head coach Mike Kauzlarich said. “We were down 12-0 at halftime and really found ourselves in some bad situations, but our players continued to compete at a high level.”
“The weather played a huge factor in limiting our passing game, which is something we rely strongly on for our offense to move the ball,” he continued. “The first quarter we had the wind at our back, which would have been the optimal time to pass the ball, but we struggled at coming up with big stops on third down. Our defense did a great job, but unfortunately we couldn’t capitalize on some opportunities to flip field position early in the game.”
Ian Abrahamson scored on a one-yard run in the opening frame, then added a 28-yard scoring dash in the second to give the visitors the 12-0 lead at the break. A 29-yard pass from Anthony Potthoff to Cody Coffman and a two-point conversion in the third period was the only scoring in the second half.
“Our special teams seemed to struggle as we were in positions to punt directly into the wind and it impacted both of our punters,” Kauzlarich noted. “Offensively we really struggled getting anything going and their defense did a great job keeping out guys from getting big plays.”
