Kingsley-Pierson falls 35-0 to Rockwell City-Lytton

K-P Paul Peterson rushes past a Wildcat defender during the Panthers 35-0 loss to Rockwell City-Lytton Friday night in Kingsley. The senior running back rushed 12 times for 20 yards in the loss. [Click to enlarge]

Inexperience and lack of depth has become a glowing concern for the Kingsley-Pierson football team as they continue to struggle through the season. Friday was no different as Rockwell City - Lytton took down the Panthers 35-0 in a non-district contest.

K-P had their hands full trying to stop the Wildcats as RC-L rolled up 351 yards of total offense. The Panthers struggled to contain the Wildcats' rushing game led by Kanne Kraft who got loose for 187 yards and two scores on just 24 attempts. In all, RC-L had 46 rushing attempts for 282 yards and four scores.

"They were just more physical than us. We got outmanned at the line of scrimmage and we couldn't get it going against a team like that," said K-P's coach Bart Boustead. "They were just more physical than us and we couldn't do anything to stop them."

It wasn't the most perfect start for the Panthers as the Wildcats took the opening kick-off back to the K-P five-yard line before punching it in for the first score of the game. After scoring three more times in the half, RC-L scored once in the third quarter to steal the 35-0 non-district win.

In turn, the Panthers could only muster up 71 total yards in the loss.

Quarterback Ryan Mercer was 1-4 passing for nine yards. Eric Anstine had the team's only reception.

Paul Peterson had 12 carries for 20 yards while Tyler Sudbeck ran six time for 33 yards. Chris Olson had eight attempts for 19 yards.

"We're just trying to run the ball, that's our style," said Boustead. "We only ran 18 plays in the first half so we need to work on that. We need to do what we can to score and right now we're not getting it done."

Defensively, Todd Bottorf led the Panthers with nine unassisted tackles and two assisted. Peterson had nine stops total including five unassisted tackles. Ross McNaughton tied for the team lead with eight unassisted tackles and one assisted stop. Sudbeck and Mike Weaver each had eight total stops. Six of their tackles were unassisted.

"Each week we work on something different to see if we can try and make something happen. We keep working to find a common ground for the kids and the kids are working hard," said Boustead. "The kids have different roles at different times but we're going to keep learning and we're going to have to improve on playing fundamental football."

The Panthers will host a similar opponent in Woodbury Central this Friday as both teams currently are winless. With both teams sporting 0-3 district records (and 0-6 overall), the winner could find themselves climbing in back into the district race as both Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn and River Valley have just one district win.

"It's a huge rivalry game. It's just up to us to decide how badly we want it," said Boustead. "Both teams are young and inexperienced. It's a battle of who wants it more."