The FZN football team continued their impressive streak of victories with a 63 – 14 District semi-final win over Sedalia Smith-Cotton. With the victory the Panthers advance to the MSHSAA Class 5 District 4 championship game where they will face their nemesis in recent years - Battle High School out of Columbia. The Panthers have faced battle four times in the previous five seasons. Battle has had the upper hand in those previous contests winning 3 of 4 including last season’s quarterfinal contest.
Against Smith-Cotton, the game was iced early as the Panthers raced to a 49 – 0 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. Panther quarterback Cairo Payne rushed only 4 times on the night, but scored on two of those runs (40 and 43 yards) in the 1st quarter. Payne also threw for two first half touchdowns, one to the familiar target of Izaiah Hartrup for 58 yards and the other a 9 yard pass to Tim Nesslage. Hartrup continued to show why he is one of the most versatile players in the area as he caught (58 yards), ran (30 yards), and returned a punt (50 yards) for touchdowns. Chris Futrell, who has begun to emerge as a key weapon for the Panthers, also rumbled 47 yards for a Panther touchdown to round out the Panther offensive scores. Coach Joe Bacon credited much of the offensive success against Smith-Cotton and throughout the season to the strong offensive line play of the Panthers. The veteran group consists of: Nate Rapplean, Joey Martin, Ryan Medley, Gavin Stricker, Gavin LaBell and Adam Lewis.
The defense was responsible for two scores on the night. The first was a Jalen Owens scoop and score from 9 yards out early in the first half, and the second a 2nd half fumble recovery in the end zone by Gavin Stricker. Max Martin narrowly missed on a third defensive score as he was stopped just short of the end-zone after returning an interception nearly 60 yards. Another defensive highlight included a 4 sack night for Parker Monnig. Monnig leads the state with 22 sacks on the season. Monnig (12), Max Martin (10) and Robert Rezex (6) were the leading tacklers on the night for the Panthers.
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As mentioned, this Friday the Panthers will play host to Columbia: Battle High School in the MSHSAA Class 5 District 4 championship game. Battle enters the game with a 8 – 3 record and have advanced to the Finals and Semi-Finals in four of the last five seasons. Kick-off at Robert Fisher Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 pm. Admission is $5.00.