Playing on less than ideal field conditions, the Pinckneyville Panthers scored the game’s first 22 points enroute to a 30-6 victory over Sparta Friday night in Pinckneyville.
Pinckneyville sophomore quarterback Bryant Shute had a huge night as he ran for 84 yards with two touchdowns and completed 3 of 5 passes for 63 yards with a touchdown. Shute also ran in three two-point conversions, as the messy field didn’t seem to affect the speedster.
“Bryant is a great kid, and he handled the ball well in these conditions,” said Pinckneyville coach Tod Rushing. “We ask a lot from him, and he has been stepping up to the challenge.”
While both teams had already been eliminated from the playoffs previous to the game, Pinckneyville came out early to set the tone.
“We want to send the seniors out right this year and start the next season off right,” said Rushing. “We talked about this situation before the game. It takes more pride than anything to play well when it is cold and the field is sloppy. We didn’t make many mistakes and we executed well.”
The Pinckneyville defense started the game by holding Sparta to just two yards on their first series before forcing a punt. On the second play from scrimmage for the Pinckneyville offense, Shute connected with Jake Bathon on a 49-yard touchdown pass. Shute then ran in the two-point conversion to give his team an 8-0 lead with 9:29 left in the opening quarter.
Sparta’s second drive of the game started well, as Zach Ferguson broke loose for a 19-yard run and a first down, but the Bulldog offense stalled after that and were forced to punt just three plays later.
Pinckneyville began its next possession from its own 41 yard line and moved the ball into Sparta territory before Shute’s pass was picked off by London Oliver. Oliver returned the ball to the Pinckneyville 36 yard line.

The Bulldogs offense picked up two first downs on their next drive and had a first-and-goal from the Pinckneyville eight yard line. The Panther defense tightened up and held the Sparta  attack to just two yards on three consecutive runs to set up fourth down from the six yard line. On fourth down, Darius Jackson’s pass was intercepted by Shute in the end zone and returned 32 yards to stop the scoring threat.
The Panthers took advantage of the turnover by marching down the field 68 yards on nine plays that resulted in a four-yard touchdown run by Shute. The two-point run was stopped and with 8:01 left in the first half, Pinckneyville led 14-0.

The Bulldogs offense picked up two first downs on their next drive and had a first-and-goal from the Pinckneyville eight yard line. The Panther defense tightened up and held the Sparta  attack to just two yards on three consecutive runs to set up fourth down from the six yard line. On fourth down, Darius Jackson’s pass was intercepted by Shute in the end zone and returned 32 yards to stop the scoring threat.
The Panthers took advantage of the turnover by marching down the field 68 yards on nine plays that resulted in a four-yard touchdown run by Shute. The two-point run was stopped and with 8:01 left in the first half, Pinckneyville led 14-0.
The only other good chance to score in the first half came with Sparta’s final drive of the second quarter. The Bulldogs began the possession from their own 27 yard line, but a pass interference call against Pinckneyville and two big third down conversion passes by Jackson, a 16 yard pass to David Sams and a 21 yard pass to Oliver gave the Bulldogs the ball at the Pinckneyville 23 yard line.
However, two incomplete passes and a quarterback sack  put the Bulldogs into a fourth and long. The fourth down pass by Jackson was intercepted, and the Panthers were able to take a quarterback knee to end the half with the 14-0 lead still intact.
Sparta looked to gain the momentum early in the second half, and their defense did their part as they forced Pinckneyville to go three-and-out on the first drive of the half. However, the punt was fumbled by Sparta and Pinckneyville recovered the loose ball to take back control on offense.
And once again the turnover turned into points for the Panthers. The Pinckneyville offense marched up the field 32 yards on four plays, as Ben Harris put the finishing touches on the drive with a 24 yard touchdown run up the middle. Shute ran in the two-point conversion, and with 7:38 to play in the third quarter, Pinckneyville led 22-0.
Sparta answered back with a 59-yard scoring drive as the Bulldogs rushing attack got going. The Dawgs moved the ball 59 yards on 12 plays, which was capped off by an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Sams. The drive was highlighted by a 26-yard run by Jackson, while Preston Nance carried the ball six times on the drive for 17 yards. The two-point conversion pass fell incomplete, and with 1:00 left in the third, Pinckneyville led 22-6.
A blocked punt by Joe Smith gave the Bulldogs another chance to get back into the game. The Bulldogs took over from the Pinckneyville 44 yard line and moved the ball to the 31 after a 10 yard run by Jackson and a six yard gain by Nance. However, the Pinckneyville defense stiffened up yet again and forced the Dawgs into a fourth down and long situation. On fourth down, Jackson’s pass was intercepted by Tyler Rice and returned all the way to the Sparta 26 yard line.
Then Pinckneyville, as they did twice before, converted the turnover into points as Shute ran past the Sparta defense two plays later for a 22-yard touchdown run. Shute then ran in the two-point conversion as his team took a 30-6 lead with 3:24 to play in the game.
Sparta was able to pick up two first downs on their next drive, but time expired before the Dawgs could put up any more points.
The Pinckneyville offense finished with 203 of total offense with 140 yards coming from the ground. The Sparta offense finished with 175 yards with 131 coming from their rushing attack.
Behind Shute’s 84 yards on the ground, Harris added 32 yards on three carries to lead the attack.
The Sparta rushing attack was led by Jackson (49 yards), Ferguson (44), and Nance (36).
Jackson was 3 of 12 passing for 44 yards with two interceptions.
“Our defense did great,” said Rushing. “Coaches (Mark) Bullock and (Todd) Thomas do a great job. The kids really know their assignments and do their jobs out there.”
With the win, Pinckneyville improved to 2-5 on the season and 2-2 in the SIRR Mississippi Division, while Sparta falls to 0-7 overall and 0-4 in the conference.
The Panthers will travel to take on Chester (5-2) Friday night, while the Bulldogs will host Nashville (3-4).