This time around there was no need for a late comeback.
On Friday night the Panthers came out firing on all cylinders and left no doubt as to who was the better team at Fort Bragg, scoring 32 unanswered points to open the game and cruising to a comfortable 32-8 win.
With the victory, McKinleyville improved to 2-0.
Head coach Jason Benge described the performance as the best he’s seen from McKinleyville since he took over the program before last season.
And it was so on both sides of the ball, as an impactful group of sophomores continued to make their presence felt in a big way.
They got a scare early in the night, when impressive sophomore quarterback Corbin Green took a big hit and was forced to the sideline.
But the tough young quarterback sat out just two plays and was back in the huddle just moments later.
Green, who has shown a lot of composure in his first two varsity starts, threw a touchdown pass to senior Braylon Sotelo for one of his team’s five TDs on the night, with Sotelo also running in for a score.
Another sophomore, Cameron Heldebrandt, also had a good night and scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, while yet another sophomore, Brycen Phillips, who is enjoying an outstanding start to the new season, rounded out the scoring on a specials teams TD, stripping the ball after a bad snap by Fort Bragg on a punt and returning it to the end zone.
It was a play that epitomized the Panthers’ fighting spirit.
“He carried about 10 Fort Bragg players on his back into the end zone,” Benge said of Phillips, who also had two sacks last week. “Our sophomores all did well again.”
Green finished with around 100 yards passing, and this time his receivers had no dropped passes.
“He came in and was efficient with the short passing game,” Benge said of his young quarterback. “He did a good job, and our receivers did a good job.”
So too did the team defense, which has hit the ground running this year and looks like a team strength.
“Our defense played lights out,” Benge said of the unit that did not give up a first down until the second half. “It wasn’t really just one person, it was the whole defense. Everybody played solid defense.”
Yet another sophomore, Everett Grutzmacher, had an interception for the second straight week, while his older brother, Bryce Grutzmacher, also had a “really good game” at linebacker, according to the coach.
Other defensive standouts included Wes Montgomery, Francisco Mendez and Gunner Grande.
“It was an all-around good game for our team,” Benge said.
And it was also a good night for the Mack JVs, who beat Fort Bragg 34-16 to go to 1-1 on the season.
