Football drops contest versus Eureka

GREENVILLE, Ill. - The football team dropped a disappointing 23-14 decision to Eureka on Saturday afternoon at Don Stout Field.

The Panthers provided the crowd with excitement when Quintral Clay returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to make the scored 10-7 with 6:25 to play in the second quarter, and Paul Garrett later rumbled for a 60 yard touchdown run that brought the score to 17-14 with 5:50 remaining in the second quarter.

The defenses for both teams took over in the second half, and Eureka's touchdown with 48 seconds to play in the third quarter was the final scoring play of the game.

The game ended with Eureka holding a 353-284 advantage in total offense over the Panthers.

GU had 194 yards of rushing offense, led by Garrett with 18 carries for 143 yards. On Saturday, Garrett will attempt to join Panther career rushing leader Anthony Dodson (5222 yards) as the only two rushers in GU history to surpass 5000 rushing yards. Garrett sits just 71 yards from the milestone.

Peyton Bates finished with an 11-of-24 passing performance for 90 yards. He connected with Delrey Crowder and Kaiden Cervantes for 23 yards each.

Playing a defensive back position as well, Garrett had an interception. Logan Kirk also intercepted a pass and returned it for 17 yards.

Greenville's leading tackler ended as Elias Velasquez with 11 in the game. He also had two tackles for a loss of yards.

Dewayne Garrett posted 10 tackles, and Thomas Linnear had nine tackles including a quarterback sack.

The Panthers (1-1) will return to action on Saturday at Manchester.