Loudon leads comeback for first district win

ADEL — Creston/O-M trailed 28-6 heading into the locker room at halftime. That deficit wouldn't last long as the Panthers rallied with 38 second half points to pick up their first district win 44-43 over Adel-DeSoto-Minburn Friday evening.

"It's what it was all year, we haven't come back, we haven't fought through it and we fought through it in the third quarter," said head coach Brian Morrison.

Sophomore backup quarterback Eli Loudon took the wrist band to start the second half and subsequently took over the game.

Loudon led the struggling Panther offense down the field for five consecutive touchdowns to start the latter half. The last of which came after Mitchel Swank took the ball in from a yard out with just under five minutes to play, giving the Panthers a 44-35 lead.

Swank's game-winning touchdown was his second score. He finished the game with 29 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

Loudon led Creston/O-M with 169 passing yards on 15 of 18 passing and 14 carries for an additional 67 yards.

"It felt pretty special," said Loudon. "We’ve had a rough year this year with all that has happened and I was really proud of our guys for going out and playing hard in the second half."

Loudon found a new receiving target in Michael Scherer multiple times in the second half to help construct Panther drives.

The biggest of those completions came on a second-and-6 with Loudon finding Scherer over the top for a 45-yard gain, one of Scherer's eight catches on the night. Scherer added two touchdown catches and reeled in a two-point conversion.

That drive ended with a three yard touchdown pass to Cody Wagner. A two-point conversion from Loudon to Cole Higgins nudged Creston/O-M in front 36-35, for the first time all game.

Scherer's second touchdown opened the second half after the senior wideout pulled down a pass, broke a tackle and changed directions on his way to a 24-yard score.

Just two and a half minutes later, Loudon scampered into the end zone from 6 yards away bringing the Panthers within one score and striking distance.

"He was consistently making good reads, making good throws, delivering the football," said Morrison about Loudon's performance and the decision to make the switch. "I think we had (six) points in the first half and we never gave up momentum."

The Panthers defense held ADM to just seven points for most of the second half. After taking a two-score lead Creston/O-M finally surrender another score.

The Tigers drove 75 yards on nine plays finished by a Matthew West touchdown pass to Ethan Meyer. A two-point conversion brought ADM within one point.

ADM elected to kick the ball back to the Panthers and forced a three-and-out.

The Tigers completed a few quick passes before West tried to hit a curl route down the right side of the field.

Kylan Smallwood stepped in front and sealed the game with an interception before leaping into a fellow teammates chest in celebration.

Smallwood started the game at quarterback hitting his receivers 50 percent of the time for 57 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Smallwood also had nine carries for 47 yards.

The Panthers were able to piece together 24 unanswered points from the end of the third quarter until their final score of the night.

Creston/O-M's defense held ADM to just one first down over that nine minute stretch.

The first half was an entirely different story.

ADM scored its first touchdown just four plays and 50 seconds after the opening kickoff. West found Gage Fuller for a 35-yard score putting the Tigers on top quickly.

It took just two plays for ADM to score its second touchdown after West pulled the ball down on a quarterback draw and scampered 69 yards for a score catapulting the Tigers to a 14-0 lead.

The Panthers answered a few drives later with an impressive catch by Scherer on third-and-goal from Smallwood.

The Tigers and West responded in kind on a 1-yard scramble by the senior quarterback giving ADM again a two score advantage.

Smallwood was intercepted early in the Panthers' following drive and West made his presence known yet again.

This time West ran for a 49-yard touchdown extending ADM's lead to 28-6.

West finished the first half with with 132 yards through the air, 119 yards on the ground and four total touchdowns.

Creston/O-M's defense held West to just 24 yards rushing in the second half, limiting the Tigers offensive firepower.

"It's just being disciplined and doing the right thing and we got that fixed in the second half," said Morrison. "Emphasizing to the kids in the second half, do your job."

The win is Creston/O-Ms first in district play this season, putting the Panthers at 1-5 and 2-6 overall.

"I don’t care about wins and losses they take care of themselves," said Morrison. "You're looking at a lot of kids who are playing Friday night football for the first time. They improve week in and week out, you don’t see it through the scoreboard because we’re not winning football games, but this has been a season that I’m proud the kids have progressed the way they have."

Creston/O-M comes home for its final contest against Carroll (3-5, 2-5) with hopes to end the season on a two-game winning streak and a positive note.

Creston/O-M 44, ADM 43

Points by quarter

C/O-M 0 6 22 16— 44

ADM 14 14 7 8— 43

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

ADM – Fuller 35 pass from West (PAT no good), 11:10.

ADM – West 69 run (Bradshaw run), 2:36.

Second Quarter

C/O-M –Scherer 2 pass from Smallwood (PAT no good), 6:55.

ADM – West 1 run (PAT good), 3:29.

ADM – West 49 run (PAT good), 2:03.

Third Quarter

C/O-M — Scherer 24 pass from Loudon (Scherer pass from Loudon), 8:03.

C/O-M – Loudon 6 run (2-pt failed), 5:30.

ADM – Knoll 77 pass from West (PAT good), 5:08.

C/O-M – Swank 4 run (Scherer pass from Loudon), 1:46.

Fourth Quarter

C/O-M — Wagner 3 pass from Loudon (Higgins pass from Loudon), 8:23.

C/O-M ­– Swank 1 run (Loudon run), 4:34.

ADM – Meyer 5 pass from West (Thompson pass from West), 2:03.

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TEAM STATISTICS

Cr ADM

First downs 22 19

Rushes-yards 53-300 21-182

Passing yards 226 274

Total yards 526 456

Punts-avg. 3-43.6 6-29.3

Return yards 106 122

Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 7-85 9-85

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — C/O-M: Mitchel Swank 29-143 2 TD, Eli Loudon 14-60 TD, Michael Scherer 1-57, Kylan Smallwood 9-47. ADM: Matthew West 11-143 3 TD, Nick Lindgren 2-18, Cole Knoll 2-13, Gavion O'steen 1-11, Nicholas Bradshaw 1-2, Gage Fuller 3-(-1).

PASSING — C/O-M: Loudon 15-18-0 for 169 yards, 2 TD, Smallwood 5-10-1 for 57 yards, TD. ADM: 16-35-1 for 277 yards, 3 TD

RECEIVING — C/O-M: Scherer 8-90 2 TD, Cole Higgins 5-67, Cody Wagner 2-32 TD, Camden Peterson 4-31, Smallwood 1-6. ADM: Knoll 3-120 TD, Ethan Meyer 6-47 TD, Fuller 1-35 TD, Lindgren 3-35, O'steen 2-20, Bradshaw 1-20.

PUNTS-AVG. — C/O-M: Scherer 3-43.6. ADM: Tim Clocke 6-29.3

TACKLE LEADERS (solo-assists) — C/O-M: Rylan Luther (2-7), Peterson (3-3), Dustin Merritt (0-6), Garrett Dahl (2-3), Dalton Bierle (2-3), Nathan Pudenz (1-4), Loudon (0-5), Smallwood (2-1), Eli Hartman (0-3), Kolby Tomas (0-3), James McDonald (0-2), Scherer (1-0), Wagner (0-1), Trey Mills (0-1), Blake Sevier (0-1), Trevor Downing (0-1). ADM: Bradshaw (20-1), Thompson (7-1), Brett Duroe (4-2), Leo Tauke (4-1), Davis Barton (4-0), Lucas Heitz (3-1), Charles Craigmile (2-1), Zach Ferguson (2-0), Hunter Knizie (2-0), Lindgren (2-0), Spencer Collins (1-1), Noah Kahler (1-0), Alex Kirkpatrick (0-2), Meyer (1-0), O'steen (1-0).

INTERCEPTIONS — C/O-M: Smallwood. ADM: Fuller.

PASS BREAKUPS — C/O-M: Luther 1, Smallwood 1, Loudon 1, Peterson 1, Sevier 1.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES — C/O-M: None.

TACKLES FOR LOSS (YARDS) — C/O-M: Luther 2-(-12). ADM: Bradshaw 6

SACKS — C/O-M: None. ADM: None.

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