SARATOGA — Thursday night was essentially the Prospect Panthers’ Super Bowl.
Concluding what could have been a league championship season that was derailed by injuries, they left it all on the field and then some in a 50-28 win over the Gunderson Grizzlies that was headlined by players returning to the field after all sorts of maladies.
“Tonight was all about the seniors,” head coach Mike Cable said. “I was their JV coach and moved up with them. They didn’t have the season that they wanted. Some of them played hurt tonight just so they could be out here one final time.”
The senior class had to play through more than just their typical share of bumps and bruises. Quarterback Jacob Sneed was recovering from a fractured collarbone, wide receiver John Roensch played for the first time since tearing his ACL in the Panthers’ opening game, running back Chad Howle tore his labrum early in the year, wide receiver Jonathan Neduva broke his hand early in the year and Gabriel Wirnowski had three microfractures in his spine.
“We took a picture of our six captains at the start of the year,” Roensch said. “All six went out with serious injuries, and we were able to get five of them back today. It’s just so great that we were able to get back together and end the season at .500. It’s really a testament to the strength of this team.”
The five who returned to the field were major factors as the Panthers put up one of their biggest offensive performances of the year, one that could have been even bigger had they not struggled in the kicking game. At the center of it all was Wirnowski, who had 13 carries for 135 yards and 114 receiving yards on four catches. He found the end zone twice on the ground and hauled in a 60-yard pass for a score on the opening play of the second quarter after running back Devin King took the handoff and rolled out to throw.
Trick plays were a constant theme for Prospect (5-5, 4-3 BVAL West Valley) as seven of Wirnowski’s carries, including his first touchdown, came on double reverses that never seemed to lose effectiveness.
“We’ve got a lot of great blockers on our team,” Wirnowski said. “It’s all them.”
The blocking opened up holes for three rushers to break the century mark on the night. Howle had three touchdowns, including a 35-yard run in the first quarter, as he carried 13 times for 109 yards. King, a junior, had 130 yards on 14 carries and found the end zone on a 22-yard dash for the final touchdown of the night after Gunderson (5-5, 5-2) had gotten back within two scores.
“The sky’s the limit. He’s a special kid,” Cable said of King. “He’s not the biggest, he’s not the fastest but he gets the job done. He’ll never go down on first contact.”
The three 100-yard rushers spelled the end of the line for the Grizzlies, who allowed a season-high in points. Jordan Palacios picked off a screen pass for a pick-six to make it 18-0 less than eight minutes in, the sort of blow that could break the wills of most teams.
That wasn’t the case for Gunderson. The Grizzlies answered with a pick-six of their own before the end of the first quarter, a 59-yard Emmanuel Ramirez touchdown, and withstood a ribcage injury to quarterback Alex Jacoby. Michael Martinez took his place under center and led a valiant comeback effort after Howle’s second touchdown made it 30-7 with just 1:35 left in the second quarter. The Grizzlies needed just two plays to score using a 33-yard Nathan Martinez run and a 30-yard touchdown pass from Michael to Nathan, who made the catch in double coverage. Prospect nearly answered that before halftime, using a 10-yard Toa Tautolo gain, a 20-yard King run and a 29-yard pickup by Wirnowski to get in the red zone before Nathan Martinez picked off a pass in the end zone to close the half.
“We left it all out on the table,” head coach Sal Munoz said. “Through all the stuff that happens in life, these guys battle through everything.”
Tomasi Teputepu paced the offense in the second half, finishing with 81 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. His 10-yard score cut the Prospect lead to 44-28 with 6:41 left, and his recovery of the ensuing onside kick gave the Grizzlies a puncher’s chance before they finally turned it over on downs.
“Out of all the kids, he’s been through a lot,” Munoz said. “It shows that patience can pay off. If you show heart and keep battling, things can go your way.”
The loss meant that even if Mt. Pleasant hadn’t beaten Lick 28-7 to clinch the league title, the Grizzlies’ season would have come to an end. There was no shortage of tears in the postgame discussion for the visitors, but they did manage to go out with a few laughs, dousing Munoz and the assistants in Gatorade, marking an incredibly rare occasion in which both teams’ coaches were drenched following a game.
