TRURO — A 20-point advantage entering the fourth quarter proved enough for Interstate-35 Friday as the hosts held off a charging Panorama for a 26-20 win in Class 1A District 7 play.
The loss came despite an excellent outing from Ryan Cogil. The sophomore entered the game with 255 rushing yards on the season but went off Friday, bursting for 245 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries.
Panorama fell to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in D7 play with the setback while I-35 moved to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the district.
Touchdowns of 28 yards on the ground and of 37 through the air gave the hosts a quick 14-0 lead after a pair of successful PAT kicks. A 13-yard scoring pass moved the score to 20-0 in favor of the home team after one quarter of action.
Panorama made it 20-6 at the half after Austin Block found Cogil for a nine-yard scoring connection.
A short scoring run in the third quarter pushed the scoreboard to 26-6 in the third quarter, but the Panthers refused to wilt.
Cogil crashed over the goal line from three yards away and Block added a two-point conversion run as the guests closed to within 26-14. A second Cogil three-yard TD spurt trimmed the deficit to 26-20 later in the frame, but the Panthers were unable to come away with a tying score.
The game close statistically as well as on the scoreboard. I-35 finished with 305 total yards and Panorama with 304. The Roadrunners passed for 123 yards and ran of 182, with the Panthers gaining 267 yards on the ground and just 37 through the air.
In addition to Cogil, Block (14-11), Cayden VanMeer (2-5), Braeden Draper (1-3), and Gavin Godfrey (1-3) also carried the ball for the visitors.
Block was 3-of-6 passing for 38 yards and a TD while VanMeer was 1-of-3 for a loss of a yard. Neither was intercepted.
Klayton Bremer (1-17), VanWinkle (1-12), and Cogil (2-8, 1 TD) caught passes for the Panthers.
Four tackles from Godfrey, four from Bremer, and three from VanWinkle led the defense.
Panorama will host West Central Valley (2-3, 0-2) for Homecoming Friday. They will visit AC/GC Oct. 8 before hosting Nodaway Valley Oct. 15 to cap the pre-scheduled portion of the regular season.
