The Bruton Panthers proved they were a team to be reckoned with in the Region 2A East, dominating the Nandua Warriors 48-10 at Bruton High on Friday night.
The Panthers opened the game with a 50-yard pass from quarterback Bilal Wallace to wide receiver Austin Gardner to set up a 1-yard touchdown run up the middle from Kapri Doucet with 11:22 remaining in the first quarter.
Doucet found the end zone again after the defense forced a punt with an 11-yard touchdown run that capped off a 70-yard drive with 4:30 left in the first quarter to giving Bruton a 13-0 lead.
Bruton added one more score in the final seconds of the first quarter when Isaiah Williams rumbled 13 yards up the middle to give the Panthers a 19-0 advantage after another missed extra point attempt.
With 7:55 remaining in the half, Doucet added another touchdown on a 6-yard carry up the middle to give Bruton a 27-0 lead after Elijah Rice completed a two-point conversion on a run to the left pylon.
On the Warriors’ next drive, Bruton cornerback Richard Taylor picked up a fumble and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to make it a 35-0 game with another two-point conversation from Rice with a little more than six minutes to play until halftime.
The Bruton defense continued to smother Nandua and gave the ball back to the offense with 2:24 left in the second quarter. That allowed Doucet to cash in on his fourth touchdown of the half on a 13-yard rush up the middle, giving him 132 yards rushing on 17 carries before halftime.
The Warriors added a 28-yard field goal from David Wright with 39 seconds left in the third quarter, and a touchdown pass from quarterback Tyreim Blake to David Wright with six minutes to go in the game to cut the score to 41-10.
Second string quarterback Greg Dockery finished off the scoring for Bruton with a 1-yard touchdown run up the middle after Austin Gardner intercepted the ball with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter to give the Panthers a commanding 48-10 win.
“Our guys were focused and came out and executed the game plan from the first play to the last play,” Bruton coach Tracy Harrod said after the game.
Harrod will find out whom his team will play next when No. 13 Arcadia takes on No. 4 Riverheads on Saturday. An Arcadia upset will give the Panthers another home game.
“It doesn’t matter to us. We’ve been on some long rides before. We will play anybody anywhere,” Harrod said.
Bruton 48 Nandua 10
Bruton: 19 22 0 7 – 48
Nandua: 0 0 3 7- 10
First Quarter
Bruton- Doucet 1-yard TD run (Kick Good)
Bruton- Doucet 11-yard TD run (Kick No Good)
Bruton- Williams 13-yard TD run (Kick No Good)
Second Quarter
Bruton- Doucet 6-yard TD run (2-point Conversion Good)
Bruton- Taylor 60-yard fumble return for TD (2-point Conversion Good)
Bruton- Doucet 13-yard TD run (Kick No Good)
Third Quarter
Nandua- Wright 28-yard Field Goal
Fourth Quarter
Nandua- Blake 39-yard TD pass to Wright (Kick Good)
Bruton- Dockery 1 yard TD run (Kick Good)
Totals
BHS, NHS
First Downs: 18, 7
Rushing-yards: 284, 115
Passing-yards: 56, 35
Comp-att-int: 2-3-0, 2-9-1
Fumbles-lost: 1-0, 3-1
