Panthers rush past Hiawatha for first win

HIAWATHA — With freshman Drake Blochlinger stepping in at quarterback for the injured Braeden Primeaux, the Concordia Panthers went into its Class 3A District 5 clash against Hiawatha with a simple offensive game plan — run the football and then run it some more.
Concordia had 44 offensive snaps in the game, and 43 of those were running plays.
The Panthers piled up 496 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on their way to a 49-0 romp over Hiawatha Friday night.
Blochlinger, getting his first start at quarterback, carried the ball 11 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior fullback Mason Eickmann gained 186 yards on just seven carries and scored three touchdowns.
Junior Drew Sterrett carried the ball eight times for 96 yards and two touchdowns.
Concordia scored on its first five offensive possessions in the game to take a 34-0 halftime lead and tacked on two more touchdowns in the second on its way to picking up its first win of the season.
“I think it is good for the kids,” Concordia coach Jordan Echer said of getting that first win. “They have done a really good job of continuing to work hard. We felt like Wednesday we had our best practice of the year. So when you are sitting at 0-4 and say you probably had your best practice, that says a lot about our kids right there. They are definitely deserving of a win.”
The Panthers, now 1-4 overall and 1-1 in district play, forced a Hiawatha turnover on the first possession of the game when Bradyn Newell’s pass was intercepted by Payton Breese at the Red Hawks’ 32-yard line.
Blochlinger carried the ball on first down and gained nine yards.
“I told him (Blochlinger), regardless of where we get the ball, this is going to be the first play. We are going to let you run the ball and hopefully get you comfortable,” Echer said.
“He has been playing linebacker, so it isn’t like he hasn’t been playing on Friday. Obviously quarterback is a little different. We tried to do what we could to make him more comfortable.”
Eight plays later, after the Panthers had a Blochlinger touchdown run wiped out because of a holding call, Eickmann scored on a 33-yard run with 4:55 to play in the first quarter.
Parker Jackson kicked the extra point to make it a 7-0 game.
Concordia forced a Hiawatha punt and got the ball back on its own 24-yard line.
Blochlinger carried twice for 29 yards and Eickmann ripped off a 43-yard run.
Three plays later, Sterrett scored on a 2-yard run with 27 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Leading 14-0, the Panthers would get the ball right back when another tipped pass was intercepted by Blochlinger.
A personal foul penalty and then a holding penalty left Concordia in a second down and 29 situation.
Eickmann was able to find a hole, break a tackle and race 77 yards for a touchdown.
“There is not a magic answer to that (second and 29). Just stick to what we have been doing, and if we can make something happen, then make something happen,” Echer said. “I think they thought when we got into those long-distance situations we were going to throw the ball. We were going to stick to what we were going to do, and that is run the ball.”
The Panthers came up with their third interception of the game when a pass by Alex Pyle was tipped and picked off by Sterrett.
“On defense, I thought our guys did a really good job of being physical and knowing where they were supposed to be. And coming up with those interceptions was big for us,” Echer said.
Concordia needed just one play to score, with Blochlinger getting into the end zone on a 27-yard run that made it 27-0.
Hiawatha, 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the district, was forced to punt on its next possession and Concordia got the ball on its own 46-yard line.
Blochlinger scampered 14 yards on a first down carry and Sterrett scored one play later on a 40-yard run.
The extra point put the Panthers up 34-0 with 6:38 to play in the first half.
Concordia got the ball on the Hiawatha 40-yard line to start the second half after the Red Hawks flubbed the kickoff.
The Panthers overcame a third and 17 following a holding call with a 37-yard run by Sterrett.
A bad snap left Concordia with a third down and 14, but Blochlinger was able to pick up a first down at the Hiawatha 2-yard line.
Blochlinger then scored on the next play to extend the lead to 41-0 with 7:40 left in the third quarter.
Concordia came up with its fourth interception of the game, this time by Kaide Gropp, to get a fourth down stop and got the ball back at the 50.
Six plays later, Eickmann scored on a 20-yard run.
Sterrett ran in the two-point conversion to make it a 49-0 game.
Eickmann has rushed for 288 yards in the last two games.
“He (Eickmann) runs really hard. I think the offensive line did a really good job of creating holes for him to run through,” Echer said. “The thing with Mason is, he is just such a physical runner that if guys aren’t wrapping up, or late in games when guys are starting to get tired, that is when you are going to start to see him make those big plays.”
With Concordia up by more than 45 points, there was a running clock over the final quarter plus.
Defensively, the Panthers were led by Tracer Murdock with seven tackles, including three for loss.
Blochlinger and Dane Cleveland had six tackles each.
Concordia will host Clay Center in a district game on Friday night.
Clay Center, 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the district, suffered its first loss of the season, 22-17, to Southeast of Saline.