In the homecoming game, the varsity football team defeated the Berkner Rams, 34-13. After the 56-point loss in the homecoming game last year, the varsity football team won in a game in which the animosity towards both sides started before the opening kickoff.
Before the game, there was controversy. Somebody took a dead goat and tied it around Berkner’s practice field goal posts sometime Thursday, Sept. 12, at night. This led to an outcry for East to apologize and even a phone call asking Coach Randy Jackson to cancel the game. But tension notwithstanding the game was played. Berkner won the coin toss and chose to receive.
In the first quarter, both defenses played very well. The Rams intercepted a pass but then fumbled. When the Panthers got the ball after the fumble recovery, the Rams’ defense forced a Panther fumble and gave the Rams possession. After two straight sacks of the Berkner quarterback, the Panthers got the ball back on a punt. On this drive, there would not be another turnover. Rather, senior Malik Simmons caught a touchdown pass, making the score 7-0 East.
In the second quarter, Berkner got possession of the football after an East fumble. The Rams scored, making it a tie game at 7. With 9:39 left in the first half, East had possession. Senior Denim Samson made a crucial third down catch, which resulted in a first down. After 30 more yards, senior Lionel Wills scored a rushing touchdown making the score 14-7. On the ensuing kickoff, the Rams were only eight yards away from the Panthers end zone. On the Berkner drive, junior Landis Durham intercepted a pass, and gave East the ball on the 28-yard line. Despite being 28 yards away from their own goal line, the Berkner defense forced the Panthers to kick a field goal, resulting in a 17-7 game. While Berkner did have a chance to score, they couldn’t take advantage and so East had another chance to score. Senior Anthony Maioriello converted a third-and-ten and East was able to kick a field goal before the end of the half. At halftime, East maintained a 20-7 lead.
After the first half, Berkner looked slow and tired, a side effect of playing against what Coach Jackson calls, “Turbo.” “Turbo” is the no-huddle offense that Jackson brought to East. When East runs “Turbo,” the offense runs about a play for every 10 seconds, during which the defense cannot substitute out players.
In the second half, East and Berkner both punted on their first drive. When East forced Berkner to punt, the Panthers started from Berkner’s 30-yard line. On second down, Samson struck again. He caught a 68-yard touchdown pass and caused the score to go up to 27-7. Berkner started their next drive with good field position, but the defense stopped the Rams at their own 25-yard line. When the Rams attempted a field goal on fourth down, the kick was blocked. East couldn’t do much with the football and ended up punting. Berkner gained possession on the 20. On the fourth play of the drive, senior Marquis Morrow intercepted a pass intended for a Berkner receiver. On the East drive, sophomore quarterback Miles Thompson threw a short touchdown pass to Maioriello, resulting in a 34-7 lead for the Panthers. After a Berkner punt, East had the ball on the 20. East drove down the field, but a botched snap and confusion amongst the quarterback and running back led to a Berkner player running the fumble back to their end zone resulting in a touchdown. On the point after touchdown (PAT) attempt, Berkner tried to score a two-point-conversion. Despite their expectation of tricking the defense for East, the two-point-conversion failed. The new score was 34-13. Although the Panthers were on offense for the rest of the game, they could not score. The final score was 34-13. The Panthers move to 3-0 on the season, and look forward to Fri. Sept. 20th, to play Flowermound Marcus, at Kimbrough Stadium at 7:30 p.m..
