Panthers Roll the Militia

Rich Snowden throws three touchdown passes against the Militia

PANTHERS ROLL THE MILITIA

Related: Watch the interviews by Bernie Armstrong

DANBURY, CT- In a tale of two halves, the Connecticut Panthers shut out the Western CT Militia in the third and fourth quarters on their way to an impressive 48-22 victory at Militia Valley Stadium. “We learned the hard way that we have to close teams out when we have the ability to” said Rich Snowden referring to their week one last second loss to the Militia, “hopefully we’ve figured some things out”.

The Militia opened up the game with a 52 yard scoring run by Lionel Assie to shock the Panthers sidelines. “We missed a tackle and he was off” said Court Sutherland. The Panthers didn’t waste any time during their first possession as Snowden found an open Akwan Shabazz behind the Militia secondary for a score. The very next series Snowden hit Shabazz again on the same sideline for a 45 yard scoring strike as the Panthers took the lead. A blocked punt by Gerald Patrick bounced through the end zone for a safety and a short scoring run by Anrae Farier gave the Panthers an early 21-7 lead.

The Militia would bounce back in the second quarter when Kevin Oberg found receiver Dante Clark for an exciting catch and run for 35 yards for a touchdown. A bad snap forced by Joe Burnett and two field goals by Andy Benzicewicz gave the Militia a one point lead as the half expired.

The second half saw the Panthers defense rise to another level and a slight change in their offensive philosophy. Pleasure from ends David Reese and Dustin Linden forced Oberg into three interceptions and only four completions the balance of the game. The Militia’s running game was also erased by linebackers Tylee Flowers, Andrew Pratt, and tackle Cory Johnson. Jason Davis and Dwight Franklin who were so instrumental in their week one matchup were reduced to a combined one catch night as defenders Sutherland, Shonte Wynn and Antwan Carr played them physically throughout the game. The Panthers started to abuse the undersized Militia linemen with 235-pound Farier in the third quarter. “Anrae is a bruiser” said Panthers Coach Welch, “when he gets rolling he is tough to stop”. An untimely penalty by the Militia set the Panthers up on the 9 yard line. Farier received the hand off and cruised into the end zone as defenders bounced off of his pads.

The next possession saw Snowden hit Jamie Bryant for a short pass which he promptly turned into a 70 yard sprint up the opposite sideline to the Militia 3. A short touchdown run by Tyrone Kelly gave the Panthers a 19 point lead in the third quarter. Later in the third Snowden again found the 6’3 Shabazz for a 32 yard catch and run for the final score of the game and a 48-22 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. “48 points is a lot to score in a minor league game considering none were defensive of special team touchdowns” said Snowden, “we got it going tonight and the defense gave us great field position throughout which helped a lot”.

Akwan Shabazz (above) pulls in one of his three scoring catches against the Militia

The win creates a three-way tie with the Militia, Panthers and CT Chiefs. “The Southern Division in AAA is a fight each weekend” said Snowden; whoever comes out of this division will have earned it”. The Panthers will head to Hartford this week to take on the Whalers while the Militia will look to avoid two consecutive losses as they take on the 2-1 Chiefs.

Shonte Wynn (5) jumps in front of a pass intended for Dwight Franklin

BOXSCORE

Connecticut Panthers

Western Connecticut Militia

TOTAL OFFENSE

Related Posts

• 
• 
  2023 Maritime Conference Championship Game
• 
  Greenjackets Champions