Zumwalt North Triumphant in Shootout with Lions

VJ Fitzpatrick and the offense are tough to stop when things are going well.

Saturday at in a Class 5, District 4 showdown was one of those days for the Panthers. The offense was working well—extremely well. The Panthers rolled up 582 total yards of offense and scored nine times to come out on top of a high-scoring slug-fest with Lions.

On a day when defense didn't seem to exist, the North offense prevailed 59-42.

"It was a great win," North head coach Joe Bacon said. "We talked a lot about doing the little things right, and obviously there was some little things throughout the course of the game that we did not do well, but overall, the kids didn't panic. They didn't lose their focus and they stuck together as a team."

Fitzpatrick, the senior quarterback for the Panthers, was a force on an unseasonably warm October day in St. Peters. Magic didn't happen every time he touched the ball, it just seemed like it. He carried the ball 29 times for an incredible 284 yards.

Four of his carries went to the end zone for scores—including an 89-yard scamper in the fourth quarter. 

The Panthers weren't a one-man show, however. Deion Lewis has five carries for 98 yards and three touchdowns. Teddy Ballmann racked up 98 yards in game. As a team, North rushed for 515 yards.

"Everybody did their jobs," Bacon said. "When everybody is able to buy into the team doing well, instead of their own individual stats, we can do some pretty impressive things." 

Nearly every single yard was needed against East. Against almost any other team, the Lions would be celebrating a big victory. East attacked through the air, on the ground and on special teams with a fake punt to rack up six touchdowns and 42 points.

The first half was an explosive offensive showcase for the teams. The only thing that stopped the scoring onslaught was the clock flashing zeros to begin halftime.

North received the opening kickoff and marched down the field for a score—a 13-yard run by Ballmann.

East was ready to answer back. Sophomore quarterback Tommy Bryan, who was making his first start in place of the injured Brandon Barrett, orchestrated a scoring drive and scored from 14 yards out to tie things at 7-7.

Like a game of tennis, it was time for the Panthers to return serve and it did just that. Fitzpatrick scored on a 20-yard run. A missed point after made the score 13-7.

East, of course answered right back. Bryan hit Mike Mahoney for a pass right up the middle. Mahoney had no one around him and scored a 32-yard touchdown to put East up 14-13.

In the second quarter, the offenses kept putting on a show. Lewis scored his first touchdown of the game with 10:31 left in the half on a 20-yard run off a nice pitch by Fitzpatrick. A missed two-point made the score 19-14 in favor of the Panthers. 

Once again, the Lions were ready to punch back. Bryan drove East down the field and scored a 10-yard run for his second rushing TD of the game. With 10:14 left in the half, the score was already 21-19.

The points kept coming. Ballmann scored on an 11-yard to put North up 25-21. East struck back with Bryan's third rushing touchdown of the half to make it 28-25 in favor of the Lions. 

"We came in with some adversity with our starting quarterback being out, but Tommy Bryan responded well," Zumwalt East head coach Scott Eacret said. "He still made some sophomore mistakes at times, but he certainly didn't cost us the game by any stretch of the imagination. He gave us a lot of opportunities for success. I thought for his first game, he did an excellent job."

North persuambly would have scored, but the whistle blew to end the first half with the Lions up 28-25. 

The second half feature more offense, but actually a little bit of defense, too. 

North's Kort Morton started the half with an interception, but Panthers couldn't turn the turnover into points and had to punt. East was then stalled once again and the Panthers had another shot.

Lewis broke free on a 36-yard run up the gut to put North back on top 32-28.

East came right back on a special teams gem. On a fourth-and-18, Mahoney fielded a bad snap and took off running. He got the first down and a whole lot more, running 66 yards for a touchdown. East was back on top 35-32. 

The Panther again turned to Lewis to right the ship. The freshman scored a 32-yarder for his third touchdown of the game. North had a slim 39-35 lead. 

Early in the fourth quarter, East again regained the lead. Bryan hit 5-foot-8-inch D'Andre Campbell  for a 32-yard TD grab. Campbell out-jumped a bevy of defenders to snare the ball.

East led 42-39 at the point, but then Fitzpatrick took over.

The North senior scored an 8-yard touchdown run, picked off a pass, scored a 12-yard touchdown run and then scored an 89-yard TD to ice the game. The end result was a 59-42 win for the Panthers.

"You have a turnover, and then a couple of missed tackles and we put ourselves into some bad situations—not to take anything away from them," Eacret said. 

North is now 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in District play. The Panthers have a bye week next week. North will return to action on Oct. 21 against Holt.

East is now 3-4 and 1-1 in the District. The Lions will take on Holt next Friday at home. 

"We're still alive," Eacret said.