Rebels shut down the run

The Riverside Rebels’ (5-0) quarterback caused big trouble for the Saratoga Panthers (0-5) last Friday.

“We played pretty tough for about a quarter and a half,” Panthers Head coach Scott Bokelman said. Then, the Rebels’ starting quarterback came in during middle of the second quarter and changed the dynamic of the game.

The Panthers were only down by seven after the first quarter but went into the half down 27. After two Rebels touchdowns in the third and two more in the fourth quarter the game ended 0-56.

The Panthers were dealing with injured seasoned players including Thatcher Spiering, Max Schneider and Cameron Lehr. Bokelman said the Panthers had to start several freshmen and sophomores who had tough match-ups against the Riverside team with mostly seniors on the field.

This was especially evident on special teams which had been doing well in the last few weeks. The Rebels returned six punts for a total of 124 yards. Bokelman credited the run backs to the Rebels punt returner who is also one of their starting running backs.

The Rebels’ defense was also effective at killing the Panthers run game, holding Saratoga to only five rushing yards. Rodrigo Escobedo was caught in the backfield several times leading to a game loss of 33 yards rushing.

Escobedo’s passing game was another story. Escobedo completed 7 of 13 pass attempts for 122 yards and five of the seven first down earned by the Panthers. Ben Fairbanks had five receptions for 98 yards and four first downs.

Consistency was the offense’s problem for the Panthers according to Bokelman.

On defense, Bokelman said his team was making better tackles but his inexperienced players still need to work on getting off their blocks.

The Panthers’ scheduled game against the Burlington Huskies on Friday has been canceled, as the Huskies do not have enough players to field a team.

This will give Saratoga some time to heal and extra practice options. For instance, Bokelman said the team will be watching game film focused on the Panthers players this week.

Because of the forfeited game, the next Panthers football game will be at Wind River on Oct. 16. The game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. kickoff.