GRAVETTE — Gravette matched Siloam Springs score for score for one half. The Panthers proved to be too much for the Lions the rest of the way.
Gamebreaker
SILOAM SPRINGS 35, GRAVETTE 14
Why the Panthers won
Siloam Springs quarterback Austin Van Poucke accounted for four touchdowns and threw for a career-high 339 yards.
Siloam Springs’ defense pitched a shutout in the second half, and the Panthers’ offense responded with a pair of third quarter touchdowns and another in the fourth in a 35-14 nonconference win at Lion Stadium.
Siloam Springs senior quarterback Van Poucke threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two more, finishing the night 18 of 27 for a career-high 339 yards. The Panthers finished with a season-high 437 yards of offense and did not have a turnover after nine combined in their first two games.
Why the Lions lost
Gravette was unable to generate any offense in the third quarter and the game tied at 14. Siloam Springs responded with three scores to open the second half and put the game away.
“The kids did what we asked them to do,” said Siloam Springs coach Bryan Ross. “Far from perfect, and we know there’s a whole lot of room for improvement, but it was a start. We didn’t have any turnovers, took care of the ball tonight, which is something that we focused on all week in practice.”
Van Poucke rushed for a score and passed for one in the first half, but the Lions (1-2) also scored twice and the two teams went into the locker room at halftime with the score tied 14-14.
After Siloam Springs’ defense got a stop on its first possession in the second half, Van Poucke handed off to sophomore Chris Lampton, and Lampton rolled right and hit Chandler Gregory for 35 yards to the Gravette 20. Two plays later, Van Poucke threw a 22-yard TD pass to Bronson Tucker for a 20-14 lead.
The two teams traded possessions and punts, and Siloam Springs (1-2) got the ball back for its offense again late in the third quarter.
Van Poucke hit Tucker for big plays of 34 and 26 yards, before Scout Alexander rushed in for a 2-yard score. After Alexander ran in the two-point conversion, the Panthers led 28-14.
The Panthers put Gravette away with a score with 10:18 in the fourth. Van Poucke found Tucker for 47 yards and the senior quarterback ran in from one yard out to set the final score.
“Our O-line just did what they were supposed to do,” said Tucker. “They did an excellent job. They allowed the quarterback, Austin, to throw us the ball and allowed Scout to run it good.”
Tucker led the Panthers with 146 receiving yards on six receptions. Chandler Gregory had eight catches for 129 yards. Edwin Magana caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Van Poucke in the first half.
Gravette finished with 343 yards of offense, but the Lions only had 40 yards in the crucial third quarter. Quarterback Chase Brody had 102 rushing yards and a touchdown, but he also lost two fumbles in the second half. In the passing game, Brody completed 15 of 25 passes for 159 yards.
“They put two (scores) on us there, and that hurt us there,” Gravette coach Bill Harrelson said. “We couldn’t make a first down going into the wind. I’m proud of the way the kids competed and everything. I’m disappointed for them for sure, not disappointed in them.”
Non-conference
SILOAM SPRINGS 35, GRAVETTE 14
Siloam Springs 7 7 14 7 — 35
Gravette 7 7 0 0 — 14
First Quarter
Grav — Shimer 7 run (Duarte kick), 7:34
Silo — Van Poucke 3 run (Dominguez kick), 1:58
Second Quarter
Silo — Magana 20 pass from Van Poucke (Dominguez kick), 1:44
Grav — Brody 2 run (Duarte kick), 0:14
Third Quarter
Silo — Tucker 22 pass from Van Poucke (run failed), 9:08
Silo — Alexander 2 run (Alexander run), 1:12
Fourth Quarter
Silo — Van Poucke 1 run (Dominguez kick), 10:18