Senior set the tone for the game during the opening kickoff, taking it 90+ yards for a touchdown. The Panthers knocked down the door again with a senior touchdown run and the rout was on.
“With the two weeks off our guys were chomping at the bit to get after it,” said head coach Robert Weiner. “They had that energy from the get-go tonight.”
The Titans did all they could to get back in the game but the Panther defense answered every effort the Titans could muster. The Panthers ran up 36 points in the first half and with a running clock in the second half, shut Tampa Bay Tech down at every turn.
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After the two-point conversion off the Crawford touchdown, the Panthers exerted their will on the Titans.
Senior Mike Tate picked off a pass on Tampa Bay Tech’s next drive and ran it down to the 33 yard line. The Panthers missed a field goal made long by penalties but the defensive pressure only ratcheted up from there.
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Senior Michael Dvornik sacked TBT senior quarterback Aaron Midthus. Senior safety Paris Bostick got to him on the next play and the Titans threw an incomplete pass on third-and-22.
“They were blitzing from everywhere and we couldn’t make adjustments,” said Midthus.
Senior quarterback James Few managed the game very well and went for blood when he got the call. The first call was on a sideline route to Aikens that Few put in just the right spot and Aikens took it in for the touchdown. On the next drive, he found senior Daniel Casselli in the corner for a touchdown. A run from Crawford got the two point conversion and it was 29-0 with eight minutes left in the half.
The Panthers weren’t done.
Tampa Bay Tech got into Panther territory and went for a deep ball over the middle. Crawford got his head around, zeroed in on the ball and picked it off. It looked like he might take a knee as time was winding down in the half but he cut up-field, broke to the outside and took it down the sideline 90 yards for the touchdown.
Senior Keenan Stalls picked off the next Titan pass to end the half.
The game was all but in hand. The second half was played with a running clock and neither team was able to score. The Panthers started to make substitutions and despite a few good defensive plays from Titan linebacker and freshman Fred Russ, it was a quick and merciful end to the game.
“We wanted to get up early on them,” said Weiner. “Once the score gets lopsided, the play starts to get sloppy.”
“They are a good team and we didn’t want to give them a chance.”
James Few was very efficient throwing five completions in 11 attempts for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
The defense was relentless. They were in the quarterback's face every pass, had several tackles for losses and were blitzing from everywhere. They limited the Titans to under 100 yards of total offense in the game.
Senior safety made a great play when he took out the punter who was trying to handle a surprise snap and got the ball for the Panthers in the red zone. Most importantly, the Panthers were all over every screen that the Titans ran against them.
Screens are a good way to keep defenses from rushing the backfield but the Panthers stayed disciplined and shut down every one.
“Defending screens has been a point of emphasis for us all season,” said defensive coordinator John Few.
