LEON, IA — Central Decatur amassed more than 500 yards of offense and took advantage of four lost fumbles and one interception from visiting Panorama in posting a 61-27 victory Friday.
“We turned the ball over too many times and kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” Panorama coach Mike Kauzlarich said. “We didn’t really play a very clean game, which is frustrating for our guys. They have put in a lot of work and have improved a lot from a year ago, but our focus was not there and it was apparent.”
Central Decatur (1-2) quarterback Sam Boothe was 11-of-21 for 317 yards and a touchdown, with Jack Scrivner pulling in six passes for 244 yards and a score. Tailback Champ Walker ran for six touchdowns and 221 yards on 23 carries to provide the offensive spark.
A nine-yard Walker run and three-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Scrivner pushed the hosts into a 13-0 lead after one quarter of play.
Braedon Draper caught a 12-yard TD pass from Cayden VanMeer as the Panthers cut their deficit to 13-6, but a six-yard Walker run and a 94-yard scoring connection between Boothe and Scrivner moved the score to 27-6.
The Panthers countered with a 24-yard pass from VanMeer to Connor Love to put the halftime score at 27-13.
“Defensively we struggled to keep out technique in coverage and we played very passive up front, and that it not what we want to do,” Kauzlarich said.
Walker scored on runs of 47 yards and of 14 yards sent the Cardinals to a 41-13 lead midway through the third quarter, with Draper returning a kick off 91 yards for a Panther TD to move the scoreboard to 41-21.
Wallker scored again, this time from 55 yards out, with Klayton Bremer scoring on a 64-yard pass play from VanMeer as the score stood at 48-27 entering the final frame.
A pair of short TD runs in the final 12 minutes provided the final score.
Despite finding several areas which will require addressing in practices, Kauzlarich also found reasons to award praise.
“Our special teams was a highlight for our team,” he noted. “We have some great punts from Braedon Draper and coverage from our punt team while also returning a kick for a touchdown by Draper as well.”
Draper thunder-footed all four of his punts, averaging a whopping 54 yards.
VanMeer finished 20-of-33 passing for 227 yards and three TDs while tossing one interception. Gavin Lindstrom was 0-for-1 passing for the Panthers.
Bremer (9-118), Draper (7-61) and Love (1-24) all caught scoring passes, with Brayden Meinecke snagging three aerials for 24 yards.
Panorama gained only 89 yards on 52 total rushes. Ryan Cogil (30-89), Draper (2-23), Sawyer Simmons (3-2), Austin Wagner (4-1), Lindstrom (1-0) and VanMeer (12, minus-26) all toted the ball for the guests.
Bremer and Kevin Cogil both had 8.5 total tackles to lead the defense, with Draper in on 5.5 stops.
District play begins Friday with a visit from defending state champions Van Meter, who are 2-1 after a Sept. 2 18-13 loss to Williamsburg, ranked first in Class 2A.
“We have a tall task this week,” Kauzlarich admitted. “We want to stay healthy and focus on our improvement as individuals, as a team, and as a program.”
