Add another week to the winless streak in district play for Paschal.
After a solid start for both teams, Arlington Bowie (4-1, 2-0) reeled off 48 straight points en route to a 69-15 thrashing of the Panthers (3-2, 0-2) Friday night at Farrington Field.
The Panthers sustained drives in the first quarter but couldn’t finish. Kicker Christian Vasquez missed three field goals in the first four possessions, and Bowie jumped out to a 14-0 lead.
Sophomore quarterback Dylan Thomas kept the Panthers in the game with an 11 yard pass to receiver Josh Widger in the second quarter to cut the lead to 14-7.
After that, it was all Bowie.
Volunteer quarterback Keaton Perry threw for two touchdowns and only had three incompletions all game, while runner and backup quarterback Tony James ran for two TD’s and threw for another.
Late in the second quarter, Paschal tried to spark the offense by replacing Thomas with senior quarterback Gibson Duwe, but the offensive line faltered. Duwe threw for 65 yards, but was picked off once and fumbled twice.
For Paschal, the offensive line struggles brought back memories of years past.
“We couldn’t block last year to save our lives, and tonight we looked just as bad,” senior David James said. “It doesn’t matter who you put at quarterback if you can’t protect him.”
Thomas finished the night 12-for-23 for 161 yards and a touchdown, but head coach Matt Cook decided to go with the senior once things started to get away from the Panthers.
“At that point, I thought Gibson [Duwe] gave us the best chance to get back in the game, so I pulled Dylan [Thomas],” Cook said. “It’s nothing against Dylan; he’s a great player.”
Even in defeat, wideout Darrell James impressed with 12 catches for 145 yards and a score. However, he felt everybody could have done better.
“We still haven’t come together and played as a team to our full potential,” James said.
For Bowie, several players had a TD next to their stat line at the end of the night. Running back Trent Shumante ran for 158 yards and a score while averaging an impressive 13 yards per carry. Also scoring for Bowie was Brican Crossley, Charlton Brooks, and Jalin Badger. Anthony Hawkins had a trifecta of TD’s: one through the air, one on the ground, and one receiving.
Next for Paschal is Arlington Martin in Arlington where once again the Panthers will look for their first district win since 2009.
“Even though we’ve lost two in a row, we’re still right there in it, and we’ll come to play next week against Martin,” Cook said.
