Game of the Week: Greenville Beats MacMurray

Media by Mike Buckhanna.

The Greenville Panthers strike once again with a win over the MacMurray Highlanders. The final score was 41-30. Before the game, both teams were tied for the number two spot in the UMAC, and the loser of the game would be moved down to third in the conference. The Panthers have now won four straight games which puts them at 6-2 for the season. The theme of the week for the Panthers was to have a “get better mindset.” While preparing for the Highlanders, the coaches talked a lot about having a “get better mindset” because going into the game the coaches knew that there was going to be a lot of adversity that the players were going to face. No matter what the circumstances were, the coaches wanted their players to focus only on what they can control and not worry about the past by focusing on getting better with this opportunity.

Captains for the game (Brock Bullar #5, Scott Woker #75, Daniel Martinez #62 and Gavin Jordan #51)
Media by Dana Fitch.
George Harris going through his progressions.
Media by Dana Fitch.

On the offensive side of the ball for the Panthers, they were relentless, putting up a total of 6 touchdowns; 3 rushing and 3 receiving. George Harris, the quarterback for the Panthers, threw for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns off of 34 attempts with a passing percentage of 67.6%. Wide receiver Kyler Henson had 7 receptions for 117 yards and 1 touchdown. Slot receiver Eric Kranh had 4 receptions for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns. Running back Paul Garrett had 29 rushes for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns making it hard for the Highlanders to stop the Panthers’ offense. This game versus MacMurray was one of the Panthers’ best game of the season offensively. The offensive coordinator for the Panthers said, “This was our best game as an offense. We fought very hard with a relentless mindset and executed at a high level playing one of our biggest games of the year. I am so proud of my guys.”

Defense with the fumble recovery.
Media by Dana Fitch.

On the defensive side of the ball for the Panthers, they only allowed 101 rushing yards the entire game but they struggled with defending the passing game. The allowed 281 passing yards with 3 touchdowns. Gavin Jordan, linebacker for the Panthers, led the game in tackles with a total of 9. On the defensive line, players Herman Esquivel, Anthony Esquivel, and Javiera Bovell all combined for a total of 3 sacks with 26-yard losses. Late in the fourth quarter with the game on the line and 1:42 on the clock, Brock Bullar sealed the win with the only interception of the game to defeat the Highlanders. The offense took the field in victory formation to end the game by taking a knee.

Brock Bullar with an interception to end the game.
Media by Dana Fitch.

This was a big win over the Highlanders putting the Panthers second in the UMAC conference. If the number one team, Martin Luther College, loses a game against their next two opponents, it could potentially lead to a tie for the conference championship between Martin Luther Knights and the Greenville Panthers if Greenville also wins out. The next opponent for Panthers will be the Iowa Wesleyan Tigers at Greenville on Saturday, November 9th at 1pm.

Media by Mike Buckhanna

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