Pana has gone 10-0 against Gillespie recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Pana Panthers will head out to square off against the Gillespie Miners at 7:00 p.m. Pana is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 34.7 points per game this season.
Pana took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They breezed by Hillsboro at home to the tune of 48-21. The victory almost wasn't to be: the Panthers were down 14-0 in the fourth quarter.
Wyatt Kile was a one-man wrecking crew for Pana as he rushed for 35 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns on perfect 6-for-6 passing. Ryan Blackwell was Kile's top target, rushing for 61 yards and a touchdown.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Pana was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 243 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 183 rushing yards in five consecutive matches.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Pana's defense and their three sacks. Tyler Rench was especially locked on to Hillsboro's QB and sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, a win for Gillespie just wasn't in the cards on Saturday as the team wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They were outmatched by Litchfield/Mt. Olive on the road and fell 41-9. The Miners have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Pana pushed their record up to 5-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Gillespie, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.
Everything came up roses for Pana against Gillespie in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 43-9 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pana since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
