DIKE — Panorama head coach Mike Kauzlarich admitted he could not have asked more of his team Friday.
Top-ranked and host Dike-New Hartford (10-0) had scored on a 60-yard pass on a 3rd-and-25 play late in the fourth quarter to take a 21-14 lead and all but certainly stifle a valiant effort from a determined Panorama (8-2) squad.
What the Wolverines should, perhaps, have expected, by that point of the contest, was that the Panthers would not fold. Quarterback Dominic Walker twice connected with Drew Taylor to convert long fourth down plays to keep a final march alive, a drive which reached the 11-yard line.
The Panthers had four chances as time ticked away to put the ball in the end zone, with the final effort, a deflected pass, ending an outstanding season.
“We were stopped inside their 20-yard line three times, and we gave up scores on 4th-and-15, 3rd-and-10 and 3rd-and-25,” Kauzlarich lamented. “Our guys were in great spots and played their hearts out, but unfortunately came up just short. I think it is a huge testament to the program we have built and the talented team we have.”
Panorama will carry with them the bitter but proud distinction of having only two losses, but those came to the No. 1 (D-NH) and No. 2 (Van Meter, a 20-0 winner) teams in the state.
The Wolverines appeared to have been caught taking the Panthers lightly and looked surprised by many of the offensive sets and plays run by Kauzlarich’s squad, with the Panther defense largely stifling one of the most potent offenses in the state, one averaging nearly 46 points per outing.
Drew Sonnenberg hit Noah Epley for a 19-yard touchdown, with Nolan Dall booting the PAT, as the hosts held a 7-0 lead after one quarter.
A sizable crowd of Panther supporters saw their team force a tie at the intermission after Luke South found the end zone from a yard out, with Michael Allen adding the PAT kick.
Taylor hauled in a 23-yard scoring strike from Walker for a 14-7 Panther lead in the third quarter, but the Wolverines answered swiftly, tying the score when Nathan Moore pulled down a 20-yard Sonnenberg aerial.
Both teams moved the ball on each other in the fourth quarter, as they had throughout the game, and just when it looked as if the Panthers might force the fifth punt of the year from their hosts Parker Kiewet got behind the secondary for the only time in the game, pulling down a strong throw from Sonnenberg and racing into the end zone for a 60-yard TD on 3rd-and-25 from the D-NH 40.
What might have been the coup-de-grace instead set up the frantic final drive from Panorama, a march made even more impressive by doing so with only one timeout to their possession.
“From the beginning of the year to the end I think we improved and really established the culture and identity of this team,” Kauzlarich said. “They came together and everyone really knew their role on the team and did it to the best of their ability. We have a lot of unselfish kids on the team and they understand how when they can help the team, and that shows a lot of maturity. Kudos to these young men.”
D-NH will host West Lyon (9-1), a 55-14 winner over Osage, in Friday’s quarterfinal round.
Sonnenberg finished 13-of-22 for 205 yards and three TDs. Cade Bennett had 155 yards on 27 rushes but was kept from the end zone after scoring 21 times in the regular season.
Walker was 18-of-31 form 336 yards and a TD. The offensive line kept him upright save for a lone sack against a defense that had terrorized opposing quarterbacks all season.
South (4-101), Allen (3-96), Evan Taylor (4-79), Drew Taylor (3-51, 1 TD), Lucas Leiferman (3-6) and Jackson Carstens (1-3) had the receptions for Panorama, with Allen (7-29), Walker (15-22), South 5-2, 1 TD) and Zach Rizzutti (1, minus-1) carrying the ball.
Walker had 6.5 tackles, Trent Hambleton 5.5, Wyatt Appleseth 4.5 and Cooper Andersen 3.5 Appleseth had a sack and two tackles for loss, with Andersen recording a sack.
A talented senior class departs, including four-year starter and jack-of-all-trades South. South leaves with career passing totals of 335-631-25 with 4,298 yards and 38 TDs while rushing 386 times for 1,458 yards and 25 TDs. He had 23 catches for 422 yards and two scores, returned two kickoffs and one fumble for TDs and scored 184 points. He departs with 6,178 total passing/rushing/receiving yards.
“Losing this senior class is going to be a tough one,” Kauzlarich admitted. “I know we have a large majority of our starters returning for our 2020 campaign, however, we will be without some very special and talented members. The seniors continued to raise the bar all year and made our team complete at the end of the season.”
