JFL Titans score shutout over Panthers

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.)

Austin Panter of the 9- and 10-year-old Panthers looks for running room during his team’s game against the Titans in Warren County JFL play Saturday. (Dale Stubblefield photo)

Their namesakes in the NFL may have come up short on Sunday, but the Titans of Warren County’s JFL came away a big winner in action Saturday afternoon at Nunley Stadium.

In the 9- and 10-year-old division of the Junior Football League, the Titans used their strong ground game to hand the Panthers a 22-0 loss.

Montrese Long got things started in the first quarter, scoring on a 20-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a lead they would never relinquish. The extra point put the Titans on top 7-0.

Mack Thomas came through in the third quarter, scoring from 30 yards out, and Frankie Martin Jr. put the finishing touch on the win with a 45-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Martin led the way with three carries for 45 yards, while Thomas had 37 yards on two rushing attempts and Long had 29 yards on three carries. Austin Fisk added 20 yards on two carries.

Titans coaches credited tough play on the offensive line with their team’s success, praising the play up front of Stefan Ward, Tyler Forth, Cody Forth, Chase Steward and Quention McKinley.

Defensively, Raney Webb led the way with three tackles, and recovered a pair of fumbles. Thomas had six tackles and forced a fumble, while McKinley and Steward had three tackles each. Casey Locke added four stops to the Titans’ defensive efforts.

August Palombo had eight tackles for the Panthers, while Conor Dixon recorded five. Christian Martin had three, with Chase Heath, Heath Simons and Austin Panter notching two each.

Panter was the Panthers’ leading rusher, with 30 yards on three carries.

• In other 9- and 10-year-old action, Michael Thrower helped lead the Dolphins to their second win of the year, scoring three touchdowns and rushing for 220 yards in a 19-6 victory over the Steelers.

Thrower got things started with a 40-yard run in the first, and added a 63-yarder in the second that was followed up by a PAT run by quarterback Ken Clayton.

The Steelers posted a TD to cut the Dolphin lead to 13-6 at halftime, but Thrower put the game away with an 85-yard scoring run in the third.

The Dolphins coaches credited tough play by their offensive line for their success on the ground, and also noted Dustin Rhea, who turned in a strong day running the football and led the team in tackles. Gabriel Walkup and Cody Sweeden also had strong defensive performances in the victory.