Friday night was another game and another close loss for the football Pinckneyville Panthers. Benton held off Pinckneyville 14-7, as the Panthers fall to 0-3 on the season, with all three losses coming by seven points or less.
“If we can change two plays from each of those games, we are sitting at 3-0,” said Pinckneyville coach Tod Rushing. “We have to limit our mistakes, and if we want to be a playoff team, that is what we have to do.”
Benton took the lead with a Quincy Hamilton five-yard touchdown run with under a minute to play in the first quarter. The Rangers added to their lead late in the second quarter as Hamilton scored on another five-yard run and this time he ran in the two-point conversion for a 14-0 halftime lead.
Pinckneyville got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter when Bryant Shute connected with Nathan Morton on a 13-yard touchdown pass. The Panthers added the extra point and trailed just 14-7 with 5:08 left to go in the third quarter.
The Panthers had a chance late to tie or win the game, but an interception allowed Benton to run out the clock and seal the win. Shute had three interceptions on the game but continues to show improvement.
“Bryant made some mistakes, but overall he had a very nice game and he continues to show the maturity need to succeed at this level,” added Rushing.
Shute led the Pinckneyville offense with 67 yards rushing on nine carries and completed 4-of-12 passes for 72 yards.
The Benton offense racked up 217 yards on the ground and 87 through the air to improve to 2-1 on the season.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Panthers, as they travel to take on Anna-Jonesboro (2-1) Friday night.