HEWITT, Texas- The Midway Panthers (10-0,6-0) were seeking regular season perfection, as they hosted the Ellison Eagles (5-5,3-3) in the final game of District 8-6A. Ellison came into the game with upset on their minds and the Eagles gave the Panthers fits throughout the first half. Midway was able to pull away from Ellison in the second half however, outscoring the Eagles 28-0 en route to a 63-28 victory.
With all the hype around Tanner Mordecai, Ellison quarterback Ta’von Gwynn let everyone know that he is talented also. The Eagles trailed the Panthers 21-0, when Gwynn hit Jyaire Shorter on a 61 yard touchdown pass with 10:53 in the second quarter.The duo was only getting warmed up, Gwynn found Shorter once more, this time on a 47 yard touchdown pass that answered a 2 yard James Fullbright touchdown run for Midway.
Tanner Mordecai was phenomenal to start the game for Midway as the Oklahoma commit scored on the Panthers second play from scrimmage when he eluded the Ellison defense on a 50 yard touchdown run. Head coach Jeff Hulme credited the offensive line for their performance on that play and throughout the game.
“Those guys have gotten better each week,” Hulme said, There’s a reason three of them are going D1.”
Midway was able to increase their lead to 14-0, when Mordecai found tight end David Priebe open on a 26 yard touchdown pass. He displayed his long ball abilities, as he hit DeMarcus Degrate on a 70 yard strike. The Panthers ended the first quarter with a 21-0 lead over the Eagles.
The Eagles offense was clicking on all cylinders to end the second quarter. Gwynn found sophomore standout Breezion Spiller on a quick pass and Spiller zigzagged his way 74 yards through the Panthers defense for an Ellison touchdown. Ellison would cut into the Panthers lead bringing the score to 35-21. Gwynn then found his favorite target Jyarie Shorter for touchdown pass of 6 yards. Mordecai was able to respond though, as the clock expired in the second quarter, when he found CJ Williams open on a 25 yard pass.
Midway had the lead at halftime 42-28, but Hulme wanted more from his defense, saying, “We have to figure something out. That’s not a playoff defense; we have to stop scrambling.”
The Panthers dominated the second half of the game. Tanner Mordecai threw two touchdowns during the third quarter, a 25 yard pass to CJ Williams followed by a 18-yard dart to Degrate. Tanner also found the end zone with his feet on a 52- yard scamper and James Fullbright would add a 15-yard run.
“We made a couple of minor adjustments at the half and our kids executed,” said Coach Hulme, “I didn’t think we ran the ball well in the second quarter and we didn’t play with a lot of energy.”
The defense must have got the message from their head coach, as they were able to pull a second half shutout and clinch the District 8-6A title.
The Panthers finished the game with 759 yards of total offense; 344 rushing and 415 passing. Tanner Mordecai lived up to the hype with the second best statistical game of his career. Mordecai had 5 carries for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns and he was 26/38 for 415 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Coach Hulme had high praises for his star quarterback.
“He’s special you don’t run across many quarterbacks like that in your lifetime as a coach, he’s as good as the come.”
Midway will host the Grand Prairie Gophers in their bi-district playoff game while Killeen Ellison will head to Duncanville for another tough game with a pack of state ranked Panthers.
Brought to you by:
