BY JIM MISUNAS
ANDOVER – Maybe Great Bend’s football team has officially hit rock bottom after a four-game losing streak.
Andover Central buried the Panthers 41-7 in Friday’s non-league football game. Quarterback Shomari Parnell passed for four touchdowns, two to Matthew Macy on a 40-degree night.
The Panthers (2-4) prevented a shutout when Gage Fritz scored on a 1-yard touchdown with under a minute left. Alex Olivas blocked an Andover Central punt to provide another scoring opportunity, but the Panthers failed to convert inside the Jaguar 10-yard line.
The Jaguars (5-1) passed for 196 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns. The Jaguars hit a big play with a screen pass and Parnell hurt the Panthers with the quarterback run game.
Macy caught a 12-yard touchdown pass and Trey DeGarmo snared a 3-yard touchdown pass. Jacob Rees converted back-to-back touchdowns for a 27-0 lead. Macy tipped the football to himself away from defender Joey Souipset on a 30-yard touchdown reception.
Andover Central scored four second-quarter touchdowns to roll to a 34-0 halftime lead.
“They kicked us in every facet of the game,” said Great Bend coach Erin Beck. “They have explosive ability to score. It spiraled out of control pretty quickly.”
Parnell had rushed for two yards in five games, but transformed into a dual-threat quarterback against the Panthers. Stopping the quarterback run game has been a year-long mystery for the Panthers.
“He gave us a lot of issues,” Beck said. “His ability to extend plays, presented a lot of issues. It made for a long night.”
The Panthers’ defense played better after halftime. Olivas garnered five tackles and seven assists. Safety Dalton Miller contributed three tackles and eight assists.
Beck was at a loss for words after the lopsided setback.
“We had a good week of practice,” Beck said. “But one thing led to another. It was one of those games where things didn’t go our way.”
Liberal (2-4) plays at Great Bend next week with both football teams riding four-game losing streaks.
“We’re lacking putting a full game together,” Beck said. “We need to figure out for to make this football team better. We’ve got to move forward and keep going. It comes back to everybody from coaches to players to figure how what to do to make us better.”
Great Bend 0 0 0 7 – 7
Andover Central 7 27 0 7 – 41
AC—Matthew Macy 12 pass from Shomari Parnell (Blake Robison kick)
AC—Trey DeGarmo 3 pass from Parnell (Robison kick)
AC—Jacob Rees 1 run (Robison kick)
AC—Jacob Rees 3 run (Robison kick)
AC—Macy 30 pass from Parnell (kick failed)
AC—Xavier Bell 3 pass from Parnell (Robison kick)
GB—Gage Fritz 1 run (Angel Razo kick)
RUSHING—GB—18-77; Gage Fritz 10-43; Dalton Miller 6-33; Alex Schremmer 1-3; team 1-(-2); AC—47-209; Parnell 10-65; Jacob Rees 20-71; Ashton Burkdoll 12-64; Jackson Rees 2-3; A.J. Bethea 2-4, Xavier Bell 1-(-8).
PASSING—GB—Miller 16-28-2, 129; AC—Parnell 11-21-0, 196.
RECEIVING—GB—Alex Schremmer 9-98; Fritz 2-13; Joey Soupiset 1-12; Sam Ryan 1-5; Peyton Duvall 2-0; Paco Hernandez 1-(-2); AC—Xavier Bell 3-72; Macy 4-63; Jackson Bell 1-35; Jacob Rees 2-23; DeGarmo 1-3.
