PVI Stays Unbeaten Versus St. John Paul the Great

By Sean O’Brien

Often you hear a game as “the tale of two halves”. Last Saturday’s matchup between the PVI Panthers and St. John Paul the Great Wolves was a tale of one quarter and three quarters, as PVI won 36-14.

The Panthers played host for the second straight week, coming off a 35-0 win over Gonzaga. The first quarter was very competitive, with the Wolves getting the ball first and taking advantage of it. Sophomore running back Chris Saunders would march down the field and cap off the opening drive with a five-yard score, putting his team up 7-0 with 6:31 left in the quarter.

PVI would counter with a five-yard score of their own by junior running back Cameron Young with 2:20 to go in the first quarter. The Wolves would get the ball back but could not answer the call.

The home team wasted no time. On the very first play of the second quarter, senior quarterback Connor Johnson connected with the electric junior Dug McDaniel for a 37-yard score to put the Panthers up 14-7. McDaniel would finish a second straight week with multiple touchdowns. He finished with four catches for 76 yards and 2 scores.

The score would remain that way for most of the second quarter until Panthers junior quarterback Ryan Cammas would take the field and fire a 35-yard laser to McDaniel, putting them up 21-7 with 49 seconds left in the first half.

PVI would take not take their foot of the gas to finish the first half. On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Braden Holt would force a fumble with freshman Vic McNeal recovering it on the nine-yard line. Three plays later Ryan Cammas found sophomore Parker Love for a nine-yard touchdown. Love’s impressive diving catch in the endzone gave PVI a 28-7 lead, and was his second highlight reel catch of the half. He had caught an unbelievable 37-yard ball from Cammas on an earlier drive.

The third quarter surprisingly saw neither team score, but with 3:29 left in the final quarter, CJ Baskerville juked a defender out of his shoes 38 yards to paydirt. The extra point saw a botched snap, but senior kicker Carter Forrest recovered it and ran it in for an improvised two-point conversion to put PVI up 36-7.

With the game out of reach, the Wolves still played with pride. Chris Saunders would once again find the endzone on an incredible 18-yard touchdown catch.

The Panthers now sit at 2-0, heading into a matchup on the road versus Bishop Ireton (2-0) Saturday afternoon at noon.

Game Notes:

• Despite the score, The Wolves won the first down battle (1815).
• It was laundry day, as both teams racked up plenty of penalties. PVI had 8 for 75 yards and St John’s had 9 for 80 yards.
• The Wolves went 713 on third down to PVI’s 2-7.
• Jake Frye led the Panthers defense with 5 tackles and 2 sacks.
• Matt Hunter added 4 tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass deflection.
• The Panthers committed no turnovers for the second game in a row. The Wolves committed 3, with one being an interception by CJ Baskerville.
• Panther QB’s would finish 612 for 122 yards and 3 TD’s.
• PVI amassed 156 yards rushing in large part to their threeheaded monster: Baskerville- 51, Young- 47, Frye 48.
• A 63yard McDaniel punt return for a touchdown was called back due to a block in the back.

For more on PVI football, check out PVIsports.net. Also make sure to follow them on Twitter at @PVISports and @PVIFootball.