Rickey Giles scored three touchdowns, ran for 77 yards and caught three passes for 47 yards in leading the Mehlville Panthers to a decisive 54-19 victory over Parkway West in a Suburban West football matchup last Friday night at Mehlville High School.

Tommy Gayfield added 113 yards on the ground — including a three-yard touchdown run — and a 36-yard reception as the Mehlville offense was virtually unstoppable against the winless Longhorns, who are now 0-3. His squad now 2-1 on the year, Mehlville Coach Gary Heyde was glad to see the Panthers clean up some of the problems that had plagued them in their first two games against Parkway Central and Lindbergh.

“We played well against West,” he said. “I was happy with our execution, because we felt we were pretty sloppy the first couple of games. Our offensive had kind of been in slow motion.”

That offense definitely hit fast forward against the outmatched Longhorns, as Mehlville raced to a 28-12 halftime lead and improved the margin to 42-12 by the end of the third quarter.

With the lopsided score, Mehlville got some players into the game that might not have otherwise played, as Tim Craig racked up 81 yards rushing and John Cunningham tacked on 71 more. In total, nine Panthers combined to run for an impressive 494 yards in the game. Heyde was clearly pleased with the Panthers’ effort against West, and attributed some of their success to their effort in practice.

“We’re happy with where we are,” he said. “We feel like we’ve been coming along in practice and are pleased with our progress.”

Mehlville now must prepare for 3-0 Lafayette, who comes into the game fresh off of its 34-13 win over Howell Central.

Heyde admits the Lancers have looked solid so far, but mostly is just hoping the Panthers can get healthy for the game.

The game between Mehlville and Lafayette will be at 7 p.m. Friday at Lafayette High School, 17050 Clayton Road.