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Panthers crush Kenedy on record-setting night
Published October 25, 2009
GERONIMO — A Navarro school record and the Kenedy Lions (2-6, 0-3) both fell hard on Friday, as the Panthers (7-1, 3-0) rolled to an easy 69-0 victory in District 28-2A action.
Jacob Garcia came into the game needing 141 yards to break the Navarro career rushing record of 3,700 yards set by Ricky Barboza from 1996-99. He passed that before halftime and finished the game with 179 yards and three touchdowns on just nine carries.
The senior fullback said he had set this as a goal and was happy to reach it.
“I thought about it a lot, especially when I knew I was closing in on it,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without the offensive lines I’ve played with and all the support I’ve received.”
Navarro head coach Les Goad said Garcia has been the “backbone” of the Navarro offense for the last three years.
“He is the perfect back for our system,” Goad said. “He is a power back but he also has the vision and burst of a tailback. He’s also one of the best blockers we have, which shows he’s unselfish.
“I look forward to how much more he can still accomplish this season.”
Garcia was one of three Navarro running backs to go over 100 yards on the night. Julius Tealer ran for 176 yards on six carries and Clay Martin rushed for 113 yards on 21 attempts.
As a team, the Panthers tallied 683 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
The Navarro defense also handled its assignment, as it racked up its third shutout in the last five weeks. The Panthers forced four turnovers and sacked the Kenedy quarterback four times in limiting the Lions to minus-23 yards rushing in the game.
The Lions, who may drop to Class 1A in next year’s realignment, were simply overmatched in the contest. In the last three years, they have been outscored 197-6 in their meetings with Navarro.
The Panthers lit up the scoreboard right from the start. They scored on their first seven possessions, facing only one third down on all those possessions combined.
In the first quarter, Garcia scored on a pair of touchdown runs to cap the Panthers’ first two drives, and running back Justin Newton added a third on a 35-yard jaunt.
Garcia toppled the record in the second quarter with an exclamation mark. He did it on a 90-yard touchdown run, avoiding a Lion tackler at midfield. It was the longest run of his career.
His backfield mate, Tealer, managed to slightly top that run just 38 seconds later. Following a Bryan Aguilar interception at the Navarro nine, Tealer outraced everybody for a 91-yard touchdown run that marked his career high as well.
Clay Martin scored again for the Panthers a minute and a half later and Kirk Chalmers added another touchdown run to give Navarro a 48-0 lead heading into the half.
At that point, the Panthers had already racked up 452 yards on 23 carries — an average of nearly 30 yards per attempt.
The second half gave Navarro a chance to give their reserves some playing time. Sean Hancock, Obed Rodriguez, and Chalmers each had nice touchdown runs of 37, 20 and 59 yards, respectively.
It could have been even worse, but the Panther coaching staff chose to display some class near the end of the game.
The Panthers were inside the Kenedy five-yard line late in the fourth quarter, threatening to push the score into the 70s. But Goad ordered his team to take two intentional delay of game penalties and eventually the drive ended at the Kenedy two.
“There is just a certain point where we don’t want to get more points,” Goad said. “I’ve been where Kenedy was tonight. Anyone who has coached for any length of time has been on both ends of games like this.”
The margin of victory and the total points scored were both the second highest in Navarro’s 39-year history. The record occurred in 1982 when the Panthers beat Smiley 73-0.
The win keeps the Panthers undefeated in district play and tied with Karnes City for the district lead.
Navarro will have a chance to clinch a playoff berth next week when they host rival Stockdale. The Brahmas are 1-2 in district and will need a win to stay in the playoff hunt. It will be both Parents’ Night and the Panthers’ final home game of 2009.
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