(Knoxville) Atlantic piled up 332 yards of offense, and the defense stymied Knoxville’s running game, resulting in a 20-17 road win in a Class 3A District 6 season opener.
The Trojans held Knoxville to a stingy 17-yard rushing, forcing the Panthers to go one-dimensional. Atlantic cranked up their rushing attack with 180 yards on the ground. Dante Hedrington carried the ball 22 times for 107 yards, and Gavin McClaren toted the ball 11 times for 66. Atlantic Head Coach Joe Brummer had this to say afterward.
Atlantic Sophomore quarterback Zayden Parker was 8-14 passing for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Colton Rasmussen hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass, and Jarrett Hansen caught a 47-yard TD throw with 24 seconds left in the first half to give the Trojans the lead going into the break.
Knoxville blasted out of the gate with Koby Higginbothems’ opening kick-off return to the Trojans’ 20-yard line. The Panthers drove to the one-yard, but the Trojans pinned their ears back and turned the home team away. A few mishandled snaps landed Knoxville back to the 12, forcing a Connor Willis 22-yard field goal and a 3-0 advantage.
The Trojans cranked up the running game. Dante Hedrington ran it in from 6 yards out with 6:11 left to play in the first half, giving the Trojans a 6-3 lead. That didn’t last long. Panthers quarterback Noah Keefer fired a 30-yard strike for a touchdown to Jay Kellar, and Knoxville led 10-6 after a Connor Willis PAT. However, the Trojans regrouped quickly and hurried up the offense, and Parker fired a pass over the middle to Jarrett Hansen, and the junior did the rest for a 30-yard touchdown and a 12-10 Trojans lead at the Break.
Atlantic received the opening second-half kick-off and methodically moved down the field, chewing up 5:36 seconds off the clock, resulting in a 30-yard TD strike to Colton Rasmussen. Parker lobbed a pass to a wide-open Jarrett Hansen in the end zone, putting the Trojans up 20-10.
Knoxville kept grinding, and it paid off. Dakota Ramsey bolted in from the four-yard line, and following the extra point, the Panthers closed the gap to 20-17, which would eventually be the final.
Noah Keefer went 8-13 passing for 120 yards and one touchdown pass to Jay Kellar.
Atlantic hosts Creston next Friday night—Knoxville Travels to Nevada.
