One week after being shut out by Palisade, the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers football team returned to action, only to be throttled again.
Playing against the Rifle Bears on Friday, Sept. 20, the Panthers had trouble moving the ball on offense and defending the run on defense, eventually falling by a score of 55-0.
Things did not get off to an auspicious start for the Panthers, who, after yielding three first quarter rushing touchdowns to Bears’ running back Kellin Leigh, trailed 21-0 after the first quarter.
The Bears continued to pour it on in the second quarter and after a rushing touchdown by Brock Clark and two touchdown passes by Layton Stutsman, the Panthers found themselves behind 42-0 at the half.
Hoping to improve in the second half, the Panthers offense was again stymied and after 24 more minutes of dominance, the Bears walked away with a 55-0 victory.
Accumulating a mere 58 yards of total offense on the day, the Panthers were led by junior Jonathan Walck, who recorded 81 yards passing. Junior Randy Haley led the team in rushing with 4 yards, while sophomore Austin Bayles led the team in receiving yards with 41.
Heading up the Panthers’ defensive attack was sophomore David Skaggs, who recorded 8 total tackles.
With the loss, the Panthers, losers of two straight games, dropped to 1-3 on the season.
Next up for the Panthers will be a Sept. 28 home matchup against Steamboat Springs at 11 a.m.