I told you guys the Siloam Springs football team was fun to watch.
The Panthers went out and proved me right on Friday in Claremore, Okla.
Going into the game, I was hesitant to compare scores of teams that have played one another. In this instance, we have Siloam Springs, Rogers and Claremore.
Rogers defeated Siloam Springs 35-21 in the season-opener at Whitey Smith Stadium on Sept. 5, and even though the Mounties won by two touchdowns, the game was competitive to the very end. In fact, had Siloam Springs been able to slow down Rogers full Bryan Grigsby even just a little bit, the result might have been different that night.
Siloam Springs' loss to Rogers was Claremore's gain. I think the Panthers may have exposed Rogers to a certain extent in that the Mounties aren't as good on the edge or at quarterback as they've been in recent years. Grigsby gashed the Panthers good but Claremore's big boys -- and they really did have some big boys -- were ready for the fullback and weren't going to let him be the difference in the ballgame. If the Panthers had to play Rogers again, I would imagine they'd employ a similar game plan.
So then Claremore hosts the Panthers, and I thought going into it that the Zebras would be challenged by Siloam Springs' offense, which would stretch the defense from sideline to sideline.
That's exactly what the Panthers did, and it worked to the tune of 460 yards, 274 rushing and 186 passing. Originally I reported it was 455 yards. You'll have to forgive a sports writer's math woes. I left the calculator at the office.
The Panthers, pure and simple, dominated the football game. That's something we haven't been able to say very much the last couple of years, unfortunately.
But it was super fun to watch, and hopefully we'll see more of that as the season moves forward.
Speaking of moving forward, the Panthers return home to Glenn W. Black Stadium.
This week's opponent -- the Conway Wampus Cats -- are coached by a familiar face. Former Panthers coach Clint Ashcraft makes his return in his sixth season now as head coach at Conway.
The Wampus Cats are ranked No. 2 in the state by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
It's the Panthers' first 7A/6A-Central Conference game, however, because Conway is a 7A school, this Friday's game will not have a bearing on the Panthers' postseason chances.
By the way, I'd like to give a shout out to the folks who make the Panthers' online audio/video broadcast possible at www.siloamspringstv.com. Tim McCord and Laurie Geurin of First Bank have done a great job with the technical aspects of the broadcast. Chris Shimer and Allen Broyles are a pleasure to listen to for the play-by-play and color commentary, and Gary Comiskey is giving them a great hand spotting and keeping stats. These are people who love and care about Siloam Springs athletics.
-- Graham Thomas is the managing editor for the Herald-Leader. He can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Sports on 09/24/2014