In a game that looked like it could be a blowout, the Mehlville Panthers made a late run but ultimately came up short, falling to Oakville, 35-27 on Oct. 11.
The win upped Oakville’s record to 3-4, while Mehlville fell to 2-5.
Oakville head football coach Mike Genge admitted that he realized the Panthers, who were coming in with back-to-back wins, would be coming in fired up, and that his team needed to get going early on in the game to have a shot at the victory.
“Absolutely, especially considering the last two games we had played, our sickness and injuries, we knew we needed to get momentum early and hopefully keep it,” Genge said. “Opening kick-off raised some eyebrows, but our kids were able to weather the storm and play hard.”
The opening kick-off definitely did raise some eyebrows, as Mehlville’s Jordan Hannam-Lewis took the ball back 90 yards for a touchdown, giving Mehlville the early 7-0 lead. After that, it was all Tigers, as Oakville reeled off 35 consecutive points, taking a 35-7 lead into the final quarter of play.
The Panthers caught some breaks in the fourth quarter, converting a fake punt, then getting a defensive stop. After scoring, Mehlville converted an onside kick as well. After 20 straight points, the Panthers ran out of gas on offense.
Genge was not happy about the struggles of the fourth quarter.
“Our defense got tired and didn’t make tackles,” he said. “It is definitely going to be a point this week in practice to finish.”
Oakville was led on the night by running back Edin Mulalic, who finished with a pair of touchdowns and 143 yards on 21 carries.
The Tigers coach said Mulalic has become the back that the coaching staff knew he could be.
“Edin is a true workhorse,” Genge said. “We challenged him early in the season to not worry about flash and just lower his pads and run and he has taken that challenge to heart. We are a much better football team when we have him in the backfield.”
As for the Panthers, head coach Kent Heinemann said penalties and turnovers were backbreakers for his squad.
“Penalties killed us,” Heinemann said. “I was happy that we were able to come back in the fourth quarter, but early missteps like not scoring when we have the ball inside the one-yard line killed us.”
Mehlville turned the ball over seven times in the game.
“Turnovers are always from a lack of focus or trying to do too much,” Heinemann said. “This was certainly the case Friday night.”
With the rivalry game behind them, both coaches agree that the final two regular season games will be huge for their respective squads. Heinemann is looking to jumpstart the Panthers running attack.
The Panthers ran the ball 38 times for 153 yards on Oct. 11.
“It’s everything,” Heinemann said. “We have a tough district. It would be huge to go into week 10 playing our best ball. We have to get this running game going.”
Genge said the Tigers must continue to build momentum in the two final contests of the regular season.
“It is crucial for us to keep rolling, play well and hopefully come out on top,” he said. “We have talked all year about how teams with momentum going into the playoffs are dangerous football teams. For us, it’s about just continuing to be consistent in what we do.”
