Cascade's big plays overcome Panthers

     A neighboring rivalry battle that featured a pair of solid running attacks turned on a trio of big plays.

     Unbeaten Cascade scored touchdowns on plays covering 81, 80 and 64 yards, and pushed to a 34-0 lead before topping Monticello 34-14 in a Class 2A, District 4 football game Friday, Sept. 22 at Cascade.

     “Their offensive line adjusts better than any other team we see.  They do a great job of hitting big plays when teams miss assignments against them,” Monticello coach Wes Wilson said. “You really have to be ‘gap sound’ against them.”

     The Panthers (1-2 district, 3-2 overall) got off to a good start offensively, taking the opening series and driving from their 22-yard line into Cascade territory. A roughing the kicker penalty against the Cougars extended the drive, but it stalled at the Cascade 40 after 12 plays, and the Panthers wound up punting.

     Cascade started at its 11, got to the 20 after two plays, and Austin Lieurance broke an 80-yard touchdown run down the right sideline, with 5:38 left in the first quarter.

     “That was a big part of the game,” Wilson said. “We really wanted to come out fast and get on the board and try to put some pressure on them. Penalties at key times seemed to stop a lot of our drives.”

     The Panthers punted on the next series, and the Cougars drove 78 yard in 11 plays, overcoming two holding penalties, and scored on a two-yard run by quarterback Haris Hoffman. With 9:40 left in the half, the Cougars led 14-0.

     Monticello picked up three first downs on its next possession, moving from its 6 to the 49, but eventually punted. The Cougars broke another big play three plays later, as Hoffman hit Logan Otting on a pass that turned into an 81-yard touchdown with 2:55 left in the half. Cascade took its 21-0 lead into halftime.

     The Cougars then opened a four-score lead on the first possession of the second half, driving 62 yards in 11 plays and scoring on a one-yard plunge by Lieurance, to take a 28-0 lead. On its next possession, Cascade scored again, as John Supple took a pass from Hoffman for a 64-yard touchdown. The extra point try hit the upright, but the Cougars led 34-0 with 1:09 left in the third quarter.

     Monticello had its best drive of the game on the next series, going 57 yards in 11 plays, with quarterback Jacob Manternach scoring on a two-yard run. The Panthers added a score in the final minute of play, an 18-yard pass from Manternach to Cooper, to round out the scoring. Gavin Holub made both of his extra point kicks.

     “We were able to move the ball offensively, we just need to be better at sustaining drives,” coach Wilson said. “We saw some improvement defensively; we just had five or six plays that really gave Cascade the edge.”

     Max Keleher led the Panthers in rushing with 139 yards in 21 carries. Jacob Manternach completed six of 11 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown. Cooper finished with three catches for 69 yards.

     Defensively, Lake Stahlberg made 10 tackles.

Homecoming vs. Waukon

     The Panthers will play host to Waukon (2-1, 4-1) Friday, Sept. 29 in the Monticello homecoming game.

Sept. 22

Monti         0    0    0  14  –  14

Cascade    7  14 13    0  –  34

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

    Cas – Lieurance 80 run (Bertling kick), 5:38 remaining.

SECOND QUARTER

    Cas – Hoffman 2 run (Bertling kick), 9:40.

    Cas – Otting 81 pass from Hoffman (Bertling kick), 2:55.

THIRD QUARTER

    Cas – Lieurance 1 run (Bertling kick), 6:03.

    Cas – Supple 64 pass from Hoffman (kick failed), 1:09.

FOURTH QUARTER

    Monti – Manternach 2 run (Holub kick), 8:48.

    Monti – Cooper 18 pass from Manternach (Holub kick), 0:55.4.

TEAM STATISTICS

                            Monti       Cas

Rushing yds.      197        274

Passing yds.       127        184

Comp.-att.-int.  6-11-0   7-9-0

Total yds.             324       458

Penalties             8-66       8-80

Fumbles lost         1            0

MONTICELLO STATISTICS

    Rushing – Keleher 21-139, Jacob Manternach 16-58.

    Passing – Manternach 6-11-127-1-0.

    Receiving – Cooper 3-69, Keleher 1-34, Mescher 1-15, Rieniets 1-9.

    Tackles – Stahlberg 10, Manternach 5, Luensman 4.5, Bowser 4, Brokaw 3.5, Mescher 3.5, Broderick 3, Cooper 2.5, Holub 2.5, C. Kraus 2, Kiburz 1, Lorenzen 0.5, Picray 0.5.

    Tackles-for-loss – Holub 0.5, Stahlberg 0.5.