The FZN football team defeated the Liberty Eagles 45 – 14 last Friday night. With the victory, the Panthers captured their 8th straight conference title. The team finished the conference schedule with a prefect 5 -0 record and improved to 5 – 3 overall on the season. Against Liberty, the improving Panther defense was led by stand out performers: Andrew Hoppe, Connor O’Neal, PJ Henderson & Colin LaBell who all had 6 tackles apiece. Henderson added a fumble recovery and a sack and Connor O’Neal had his 2nd interception of the year.
On offense, the Panthers were once again paced by multi-purpose threat, Chris Reckel, who totaled a combined 136 rushing and receiving yards. Reckel scored four touchdowns on the evening to up his season total to 16. He leads the conference in scoring. Jalen Lee was the team’s leading rusher with 78 yards and 2 touchdowns. Connor O’Neal and DJ Jones combined for almost 100 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Peyton Hoker threw for 186 yards and a touchdown. The leading passer in the conference, through eight games, Hoker has thrown for nearly 1400 yards and 20 touchdowns.
This Friday is their final regular season home game of the year as they take on the Redbirds of Alton, IL. It is the first ever meeting between the schools. The game is part of the FZN’s annual “Homecoming” celebration. With a victory against the Redbirds the Panthers can wrap up the number one seed in their MSHSAA Class 5 district, therefore earing a bye in the first round of district play. At Friday’s game, FZN will recognize all alumni in attendance and will crown this year’s homecoming king and queen. Kickoff at Fisher Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 pm.