Parkview Runs Past Berkmar to Retain Green Flag

Chris Carson rushed for three touchdowns for as the Panthers beat 41-3 in Lilburn Friiday night.

Carson finished the game with 129 yards rushing, 122 of those coming in the first half. His final touchdown was a 73-yard run down the sideline.

Parkview (3-2, 3-0 in Region 8-AAAAA) defeated Berkmar (1-5, 0-4) for the the Panthers' 12th consecutive win in the series.

Parkview has won won three games in a row.

Carson scored on 4- and 6-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter. Parkview’s Keanu Mole intercepted Berkmar quarterback Deion Perry and ran back 26 yards for another Parkview touchdown.

 “I saw the ball coming and I saw the hole to the end zone,” said Mole. “It felt great to get that touchdown.”

Berkmar answered back with Devin Johnson, who had over 75 total yards, returning the kickoff 30 yards to the 50-yard line. Berkmar’s Perry and Johnson connected on a three passes to get the Patriots into the red zone. On fourth down, kicker Mark Lopez put the ball through the uprights for a field goal. Berkmar trailed 21-3.

Carson added his most impressive touchdown of the night with a breakaway 73-yarder down the sideline, and Parkview led 28-3 with nine minutes left in the half.

The amazing run was followed by a bizarre number of interceptions. Panthers QB Jack Esmonde was intercepted by Jaree Jackson. Berkmar’s Perry was then intercepted by Parkview’s Bryce Lewis. And in the following drive, Esmonde was again intercepted by Mikel Sessions. It was a series of errors that broke the flow of Parkview’s run game.

Parkview finally got its groove back by when Esmonde connected with Hunter Thornton for the only passing touchdown of the game. The 2-yard touchdown capped a 64-yard drive with a minute left in the half. Parkview went into the half with a commanding 35-3 lead.

The Panther’s continued their running onslaught in the second half. Alex Reid, who ran for 39 yards in the game, scored a 1-yard touchdown early in the half to finish the scoring for the night. A botched snap on the extra-point attempt and an improvised incomplete pass by Esmonde put Parkview ahead 41-3.

It stayed that way until the end of the game as the Panthers retained the Green Flag.

“The Green Flag is something we play for and we are proud to hang on to it,” said Parkview Head Coach Cecil Flowe.

“We’ve been working on our running game,” said Flowe. “We’re young, but they are starting to comprehend it.”

“Berkmar played hard,” Flowe continued. “They are going through some growing pains right now and they just have to keep playing.”

“If we were a bit stronger we could be more competitive,” said Berkmar Head Coach Jonathan Sanks.

“We’re getting pushed off the ball,” he continued. “We’ll just keep working to get better.”

The Panthers were effective on both sides of the ball even without injured Patrick Flowe who is out for four weeks with a dislocated distal ulna. Jordan Reid, last week’s , ran for 36 yards and caught for another 41 yards.

Parkview will travel to face Central Gwinnett next Friday. Berkmar travels to South Gwinnett next week.