Panthers advance to finals after beating Salem, 55-0

The Mountain Grove Panthers’ football team punched their ticket to the Class 3, District 5 championship game last Friday night after they cruised to a 55-0 win over Salem.
The Panthers led 35-0 at halftime and never looked back in a game where they rushed for 433 yards. Meanwhile, Mountain Grove’s defense held the Tigers to just 67 total yards of offense.
While Salem’s offense went three-and-out in their first five possessions, the Panthers’ offense put several points on the board.
Starting their first drive from the 21, quarterback Aden Estep’s 40-yard pass to Kale Gardner was followed one play later by Eli Golden’s 15-yard touchdown run. Dameon Martin’s extra-point kick gave them an early 7-0 lead.
On their next possession, Estep scored on the fourth play with a 62-yard touchdown run. Another good extra-point kick made it a 14-0 lead.
They started their third scoring drive near the end of the first quarter. Braydon Curtiss had a 25-yard carry four plays before Estep’s 10-yard touchdown scramble. Martin’s kick pushed the lead to 21-0.
A fumbled snap helped to end Salem’s next drive early.
Estep soon followed with a solid kickoff return to midfield.
Two plays later, he scored on a 37-yard touchdown run.
The extra-point gave Mountain Grove a 28-0 edge.
Jacob Crosco’s third down sack ended another Tigers’ offensive drive. Two plays later, Estep scored on a 61-yard touchdown run, and with a good kick, Mountain Grove now led 35-0.
Salem’s offense picked up a 31-yard passing play to get the ball inside the Panthers’ territory.
Fortunately, the Panthers’ defense stopped the drive with Crosco’s sack for a three-yard loss and several players combined on a sack for a 10-yard loss to end the first half of play.
Mountain Grove had 286 yards on the ground and 40 in the air for 326 total yards of offense in the first half. Salem had just 48 total yards.
The Panthers opened the second half with Damien LaFranchise’s return into Salem territory.
Three different players had a carry for more than 13 yards before Curtiss scored on a six-yard touchdown run. Martin’s kick gave his team a 42-0 edge.
Salem’s quarterback fumbled a snap three plays later and Peyton Metty recovered it for the Panthers.
With the mercy clock in effect and several back-up Panthers in the line-up, Brody Bevan quickly left his mark with a 34-yard carry. Three plays later, LaFranchise scored from four yards out. The kick was no good, keeping the score at 48-0.
The Tigers’ offense finally got another first down on their next drive. A near interception only prolonged a Salem drive that soon ended.
LaFranchise added a 27-yard run just before Bevan scored on a 12-yard touchdown run with 5:47 left in the game. Martin’s kick pushed the lead to 55-0,.
Estep had a big game as he tallied nine carries for 204 yards and four touchdowns. He also completed one pass for 40 yards.
Curtiss added nine carries for 70 yards and one touchdown. Bevan chipped in four carries for 52 yards and one touchdown.
LaFranchise had four carries for 39 yards and one touchdown; Golden had three carries for 22 yards; and Dalton Shannon had three carries for 19 yards.
Up next for the Panthers is a match-up with 9-2 Clever, who is coming off a district semifinals win over St. James, 28-13.
They did defeat a struggling Fair Grove squad the Panthers lost to in week one, 13-10. Their losses were against Forsyth (43-42) and Strafford (17-12).
Mountain Grove hosts Clever in a battle for the district title at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14.