CENTRALIA (0-2) VS JCHS (0-2)

Panthers pay tribute to team mom with OT victory

(PHOTOS AND STORY COURTESY OF GREG SHASHACK OF THE ALTON TELEGRAPH)

JERSEYVILLE – Jersey Panthers football coach Ric Johns called it “a special night” for Kurt Hall.

Hall would reserve the “special” label for his mother. Those at Snyders Sports Complex on Thursday night who knew Rhonda (Guilander) Hall would agree with her son.

“This was all for her,” Kurt Hall said of the Panthers’ 21-14 overtime victory over the Centralia Orphans. “All for her.”

Rhonda Hall died in June 2017 at age 48 after a sudden and short illness. The longtime Jersey school district teacher and Panthers booster was honored by the Panthers and admirers of the farm girl from Kane at halftime with balloons released into the cloudy night.

Kurt Hall, a 5-foot-10, 201-pound running back, did have a special performance before and after the emotional halftime tribute. He needed just 11 carries to pile up 130 rushing yards that including an 11-yard touchdown run to cap a scoring drive that included a 22-yard gain on his first carry.

“I did what I could with my team,” Hall said. “And my line did a heck of a job blocking. It was awesome what we did tonight. I could not ask for anything better from my teammates.”

The night was also special for Johns, who picked up his first win as head coach for a new team for the fifth time in his hall of fame career.

“It’s nice to get that first one,” Johns said career win No. 188 before smiling and adding, “in such dramatic fashion. It’s nice. A big win for me and I hope we have many more in my future here.”

Victory No. 1 in Johns’ first three stops came in game No. 1, starting with Calhoun beating Jacksonville ISD on Sept. 11, 1981. His Carlinville Cavaliers beat Greenville, his Belleville West Maroons beat Highland and his Wesclin Warriors beat Mount Olive.

Johns had to wait for season No. 2 and game No. 10 for his first victory at Wesclin, but Jersey got the job done in three. Centralia, however, did not go quietly after the Panthers controlled play in the first half.

Down 14-0 at the break, the Orphans moved sophomore Mason Blakemore to quarterback. And with the shifty 6-0, 165-pound sophomore running off direct snaps, he shredded the Panthers defense for 171 of his game-high 177 rushing yards and two TDs in the second half.

“I hate to say it, but physically, we struggle with the really, really fine athletes,” said Johns, citing Granite City’s Freddy Edwards and Jerry Watson, who combined for nearly 400 rushing yards and more than 500 yards total offense in Jersey’s 42-6 loss in Week 1. “We played a really good Marion team last week, but they didn’t have the super athlete. We do struggle with speed and I know we’ve got speed coming up. We’ll just have to keep grinding.”

Jersey’s offense strung together scoring drives of 80 and 86 yards, with the second of those possessions taking 15 plays and 5 minutes, 58 seconds. Quarterback Matthew Jackson had 96 of his 106 rushing yards in a first half that saw the Panthers offense put up 234 yards.

“We were playing our kind of football,” Johns said. “But, uncharacteristically, we had a couple turnovers that took us out of drives.”

Jersey, which finished with 364 yards offense, lost two fumbles and also had Hall’s 17-yard TD run taken away by an illegal motion penalty. The Panthers got nothing out of that drive that consumed 15 plays and 7:47 off the clock midway through the second half.

“And as our confidence started to wane, (Centralia’s) started to pick up,” Johns said. “That’s how it works with 17-, 18-year-old boys.”

The Orphans, who fell to 0-3, drew even at 14-14 with 2:44 remaining in the fourth quarter. Centralia got the ball back with 1:21 left and drove to the Jersey 10. Only a blocked field goal from 27 yards on the quarter’s final play saved the Panthers from a demoralizing defeat.

“We just stuck together as a team,” Hall said. “That fourth quarter, that was all team. The strongest team is the team that loves each other. … We got a little down once they scored 14. But we just believed in each other and knew we could pull it out.”

The Panthers pulled it out in the first overtime. With each team getting a possession at the 10-yard line, Jersey stayed basic with three runs into the heart of the Orphans defense by 5-8, 220-pound junior fullback Brian McDonald picking up 4, 5 and 1 yards for a TD before David Rogers’ third PAT put the Panthers up 21-14.

Jersey’s defense blew up two Centralia plays and two penalties put the Orphans in a predicament with second-and-goal from the 29. It got to fourth down from the 25 when flags began to fly from the end zone.

The Panthers were penalized for a personal foul (hitting a defenseless receiver) giving the Orphans a second chance from the 12. A pass interference offered a third chance from the 6 and another pass interference brought a fourth chance from the 3.

Jersey’s delayed gratification came when Alex Strebel penetrated the backfield to alter Blakemore’s path before other Panthers defenders made the tackle for a 2-yard loss on a fourth fourth down and the celebration commenced.

“This pumps our team up a lot,” Hall said. “And it gives us confidence going into Highland.”

The Panthers are 1-2 and will be back home for a fourth straight game when two-time defending Mississippi Valley Conference champion Highland (3-0) brings its 11-game Valley win streak to Jerseyville on Friday.

“We trust they’re going to be a load,” Johns said.