Panthers pounce on Lingle

“The Panthers actually never trailed against Lingle,” Saratoga Head Football Coach Logan Wright said. “We talked about having a fast start and the defense started on the field and we got a forced fumble that we scored on and it set the tone.”

The Panthers scored 31 points in the first half and led by 6 points.

“Lingle is big and physical and they finish tackles well,” Wright said. “I think they are a team that is going to get some wins out there. They are well coached, but I think things are just clicking for us right now.”

Wright said the offensive game was everything he hoped for from his team.

“My athletes are making good decisions out on the field,” Wright said. “There are still some things we can clean up, which we went over on film, so we hope to just keep getting better and not complacent at all.”

He said special teams did allow two run backs, which means there is work to be done, but Wright said defensively, this was the best game the Panthers had played this season.

“Still some things to fix in terms of defensive backs getting the ball thrown over their head,” Wright said. “We broke down on tackles, especially one on one, I know that is going to be huge against Hulett (they play the team next), because they have a shifty quarterback.”

Wright was thrilled with his quarterback Teegan Love who passed for 399 yards and eight touchdowns.

“He is really something else,” Wright said. “Another player I was really happy with was Max Dahl, who, maybe a lot of people don’t know his name, but he is really setting the tone for us, offensively, physically and he has been awesome. He had three touchdowns against Kaycee and two touchdowns against Lingle. He really is stepping up.”

Wright said Memphis Smith is catching everything that is thrown to him.

He said freshman Heston Fisher caught two touchdowns.

“Heston not only caught touchdowns, they were tough ones and he was hit hard too,” Wright said. “Logan Seahorn has enough speed to take the top off the defense and certainly can catch as he proved when he caught the big one last week.”

Noah Rimmer also elicited praise from Wright.

“Noah catches, he scored two touchdowns and defensively he just gets down,” Wright said. “He is a lot faster than people think.”

Wright said the team is well rounded and taking form.

“Now we are going for three in a row,” Wright said. “We have top ranked teams to face in the next few weeks and I think the boys are really enjoying it.”

He said the last three possessions were run by the second team. Although the team didn’t score, he said the players are impressive. Sophomores Alex Irby and Jeffery Johnson are the type of players that can do anything on the field.

“We have a lot of high character kids,” Wright said.

Love agreed with his assessment on how good his teammates are.

“I have been working hard to try and be the leader of the team, but I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” Love said. “They are the best group of guys I have ever played with.”

“I am really looking forward to Hulett,” Wright said. “They are good enough to beat us and I think we are good enough to beat them, which makes for a perfect football game to plan for.”

The next scheduled game is Sept. 28 against the Hulett Devils in Hulett.