DeYoe, Panthers surge in second half to defeat Hillbillies
PORTVILLE, NY – No one likes an upset. Even worse would be an upset on Senior Night. However, after a lack-luster first half, the Portville football team retaliated in the second to blowout Fredonia 28-6.
The Panthers entered the game with a head full of steam. As the supposed favorites, the Panthers would waste no time striding into the endzone, however, first they had to showcase their defense.
After receiving the kickoff, the Hillbillies would get one big push, a 12-yard gain from quarterback Donovan Dowdy, before stalling out over the next three snaps. The subsequent punt would leave Portville on their own 12-yard-line and while they had almost the entire length of the field to go, the Panthers made it look easy as they went the distance in just two downs. First, Eli Sleggs would connect with Aidan Defazio for a 50-yard gain through the air, followed by a 38-yard rush from Maxx DeYoe that resulted in the first touchdown of the game. After just three minutes of play, the Panthers put themselves on top.
If Fredonia was going to compete, their defense would need a significant revitalization. Although the Hillbillies would give up an interception on the next time out on offense, their defense proved resilient. After the Panthers once again got another big gain early, a 39-yard gain from DeYoe on their opening snap, Fredonia would halt them thereafter, including an ironclad stop on fourth-and-two.
“I think they caught us early but we didn’t make too many adjustments. It was a lack of aggressiveness,” said Fredonia head coach Greg Sherlock. “We have to get guys out there that want to hit. It doesn’t matter what grade. At the beginning of the game maybe we were running scared.”
Over the next handful of drives, neither team could get a break and were held scoreless.
Early in the second quarter, however, Fredonia found their rhythm, which was conducted by Dowdy. Calling his own number, Dowdy ran for a momentum-building 27-yard rush to start the drive. He would continue to claw his way up field, grabbing yards in bunches until the Hillbillies stood just five yards away from the endzone.
“He’s a smart kid. He’s a very intelligent boy and an athlete,” said Sherlock. “He just has that mentality that he wants to be the guy back there. The confidence he has in himself is what we need. He’s not the fastest guy out there but he will run at anyone and he’s not afraid.”
On the fifth snap of the possession, Dowdy stormed through the trenches to tack on six points and although Fredonia missed the two-point-conversion, they had announced their presence. There were no underdogs anymore.
This was emphasized on the next possession when the Hillbillies forced a Panther fumble on just their second snap. Taking over on their own 36, Fredonia once again made their way up field thanks to a pass interference call that escorted them to midfield. Despite the progress made, the Hillbillies failed to repeat their previous drive, punting three plays later.
Portville, eager to get to the drawing board during halftime, suffered one more setback in the final minutes of the first half. Scrapping their way to the redzone, the Panthers looked to close the final distance through the air. Unfortunately for the home team, that would prove to be their last play of the half, as Fredonia’s Kevin Brown picked off the would-be touchdown and came down with a touchback. After the first two quarters, it was the Panthers that were undoubtedly on the ropes.
“We came out great and then I think we went into cruise control,” said Portville head coach Josh Brooks. “Fredonia played hard and they were really physical upfront. We kind of got out of our rhythm and turned it over too much so credit to them.”
Whatever Brooks said to his squad during the 15-minute intermission must have resonated with the Panthers because they returned to the field looking for blood. Getting the ball on their own 40, Portville turned to DeYoe to lead the way on the ground. After three carries that garnered four yards a-piece, DeYoe got the ball and chose to break things open with brute force. Bashing through numerous defenders and tackles, he burst through his gap for a 48-yard touchdown, putting wind back in Portville’s sails.
“(DeYoe) is just a tough kid. We had all we could handle upfront against (Fredonia’s) front line and he was just determined to score,” said Brooks. “He’s a small kid but he’s tough as heck. We’ve been waiting for that breakout from him and he’s had a good season so far, but for him to be able to score a few touchdowns without perfect blocking was huge and I think gives him a lot of confidence.”
For a Fredonia squad looking to retaliate, things started to sour. Immediately after giving up a touchdown, a whiffed kickoff recovery put the ball in the Panthers hands once again. While the Hillbillies would barely fend Portville off, the Panthers came just a few inches short of converting on a fourth-and-one rush, Fredonia’s offense couldn’t find the spark captured in the first half. Choosing to go through Dowry, they were stunted far from the endzone and forced to punt.
On their first drive of the fourth quarter, Portville continued to run it down the Hillbillies’ throats with DeYoe. It would take just four carries for the Panthers to reach the end zone once again, widening the gap to 21-6 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the contest. After their third score of the night, the Panthers’ defense would take any last life out of Fredonia with an interception from Defazio followed by another DeYoe score three minutes later.
Whether it be luck or skill, whatever manifested in the first half for the Hillbillies had faded and left them in the second. Now all they could do is wait for the final whistle which came sooner rather than later.
DeYoe ended with 207 rushing yards on 18 carries as he made it into the endzone four times during the win. Sleggs threw for 155 yards, completing seven of his 11 attempts and targeting Defazio twice for 65 yards. Adam Roe ended with two catches for 41 yards while DeYoe had one catch for 33 yards. On defense, DeYoe had six tackles with three of them producing a loss of yards, Demetrius Young had six tackles, one for a loss and Cole Keesler had five tackles and one interception.
Looking ahead, the Panthers have just two games left on their schedule, both of which will be played on the road. Next Friday, Portville will travel to take on Silver Creek/Forestville before playing Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton the following week. Beyond that lay the playoffs.
“We grinded it out. You hope for a perfect game and it never happens,” said Brooks. “To not quit and to keep grinding, grinding, grinding, force some turnovers, run the ball against a good defensive front, that’s going to set us up for success come playoff time.”
