QCSportsNet - The Quad Cities Live Local Sports Leader

The United Township Panthers had to play catchup almost all Friday night, in the end falling to Sterling, 23-19 in the Western Big 6 opener at the Soule Bowl.  A bad snap over UT QB Matthew Kelley’s head in Panthers’ territory was picked up by the Golden Warriors and run in for a TD just 15 seconds into the game.  Kelley, returning after being injured in Week 1, ran 44 yards to tie the score 7-7 with 5:52 left in the 1st.

Two 33-yard field goals by Sterling’s Ryan Gebhardt, and a 33-yard TD run by the Golden Warriors’ Cale Ledergerber, were sandwiched around Kelley’s second TD run, this one from 23 yards out, leaving the Panthers trailing 20-13 at the half.  A third FG made it 23-13 in the 3rd, before Chris Ward’s 1-yard TD run made it 23-19 with 1:19 remaining in the quarter.

But the Panthers (1-2, 0-1 in conference play) were unable to score in the 4th, with an interception of a Kelley pass with 1:55 to play sealing the deal for the Golden Warriors (1-2, 1-0).  Kelley finished with 100 rushing yards on 13 carries and threw for another 64 yards.

The Panthers visit Geneseo (3-0, 1-0) Friday night.  Live play-by-play on QCSportsNet.com beginning at about 7:15 p.m., presented by Van Hoe Funeral Home.

Though Rock Island displayed an improved passing game, the Rocks were no match for the #9 (Class 7A) Quincy Blue Devils on Friday night, losing 41-7 in what was both their home opener and the opening game in Western Big 6 play.  Quincy QB Bradyn Little continued his stellar play, throwing for 298 yards and three TDs, including two long scores to Adon Byquist.  Jeraius Rice ran for two scores for the Blue Devils (3-0, 1-0).  Rice’s second TD with 1:55 left in the 3rd quarter made the score 41-0, prompting a continuous clock for the remainder of the game.

The Rocks’ offense had its best passing attack of the season, junior QB Jav’eion Clark-Pugh throwing for 133 yards, and the offensive line frequently picking up Quincy blitzes, allowing “Juice” just enough time to release his passes.  Clark-Pugh was named the Hungry Hobo Rock Island Rocks Player of the Game.  Amare Overton led the receivers with 7 catches for 66 yards.  

Running hard between the tackles, RB Garr Tarr had 61 yards on 14 carries.  RB Issais Duarte dashed 41 yards for the Rocks’ lone score with 5:09 left in the game.  Defensively, the Rocks stopped to Quincy drives at the 1-yard line, once poking the ball out of Rice’s hands as he appeared ready to score, the second time on an interception by Niyo Fiston.

The Rocks (0-3, 0-1 in conference) will play a non-conference game against Sterling-Newman (2-1), who lost to Princeton on Friday, 20-0, after season-opening wins vs Rockridge (12-7) and Sherrard (16-10).  This game took the place of Alleman on the schedule, after the Pioneers elected to play only junior varsity football in 2023.

The live play-by-play broadcast of Rocks Football, presented by Wheelan-Pressly, will get underway with the Crawford Company Pre-Game Show scheduled for 7:15 p.m., and kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m.

Western Big 6 Conference play begins this Friday, and we’ve got nothing but home cooking for Week 3.
All games Friday. Follow the hyperlinks for the live streams:

6:45 p.m. Moline vs Geneseo, presented by Sexton Ford
7:15 p.m. Rock Island vs Quincy, presented by Wheelan-Pressly
6:45 p.m. United Township vs Sterling, presented by Van Hoe Funeral Home

The United Township Panthers got three touchdown runs from Isaiah Navarette and three TD passes from backup QB Christian Peterson in a 60-6 blowout win over Chicago Muchin, Saturday afternoon at the Soule Bowl.  Navarette finished with 114 yards on 10 carries, including scores of 2, 14, and 27 yards, all in the first half.  Peterson, filling in for injured starter Matthew Kelley, completed 8-of-12 passes for 130 yards, finishing with 7 straight completions.  Cohen Parsons caught two of the TD throws, for 24 yards and 40 yards.  Gabriel Kpomassy grabbed a 9-yard TD throw.

Three other touchdowns for UT:  Fumble returns by Maurice Mazique (8 yards) and Jorge Lira (25 yards), and a 7-yard run by Rowan Kallal.  The Panthers (1-1) host the Sterling Golden Warriors (0-2) in the Western Big 6 opener Friday night.  Live play-by-play on QCSportsNet.com beginning at 7:15 p.m., presented by Van Hoe Funeral Home.

Rock Island showed improvement on both sides of the ball, but suffered its second straight defeat to open the season, 21-7 at Dunlap on Friday night, September 1st.  The Rocks were in a hole early for the second straight week, allowing a 49-yard opening kickoff return, followed by a 41-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage.  The Rocks lost a fumble at their 2-yard line, leading to another TD and a 14-0 late 1st quarter deficit.  The Eagles’ third score came in the final minute of the 1st, on a 51-yard run, both long TDs by Kendall Netters.  On four other first-half possessions, Dunlap gained negative yards on each one, with the Rocks’ defense coming up with several tackles for loss.

In the second half, the Rocks used their short passing game to engineer an 8-play, 82-yard drive, capped off by Garr Tarr’s 23-yard run to the end zone.  The Rocks’ defense held the Eagles scoreless, including interceptions by Daishaun McCaw and V’Jay Garrard.  Tarr finished with 78 yards rushing on 18 carries, plus a 34-yard pass reception on their TD drive, and was named Hungry Hobo Rock Island Rocks Player of the Game.

The 0-2 Rocks open their Western Big 6 schedule this Friday night against 2-0 Quincy, live on QCSportsNet.com beginning about 7:15 p.m.