United Township scored early and often, and damaged Moline’s playoff hopes with a 42-28 victory over the Maroons, Friday night at the Soule Bowl in East Moline. After jumping out to a 14-0 lead at the end of the 1st quarter, the Panthers and Maroons traded TDs the rest of the way, but always with UT up by one or two scores. Panthers QB Matthew Kelley ran for two TDs and threw for two. But after UT stopped Moline deep in Panthers territory late in the 4th quarter to preserve a 35-28 lead, it was Korey Randle’s dramatic 52-yard TD run with 2:10 remaining that sealed the upset win for UT (3-5, 1-4 in WB6).
Kelley was a monster for UT, running for 195 and passing for 101 more. Moline RB Pablo Perez ran for all four of the Maroons TDs.
The loss by the Maroons (3-4, 1-3 in WB6) sets up a scenario where, if Moline beats Galesburg and Sterling defeats Rock Island next week, Moline at 4-4 would visit Sterling, also at 4-4, with the winner likely making the playoffs, while the loser would be eliminated from post season consideration. UT is off next week before finishing vs. Galesburg on Oct. 20.