Panthers hungry for state title
By Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Thursday, October 30, 2008 12:57 PM PDT
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| The Parma offense lines up for an attack in the this Argus Observer file photo. Parma will host Cole Valley at 1 p.m. Saturday in the opening round of the Idaho 2A state football playoffs. |
Parma — The Parma Panther football team is healthy and hungry for a state championship.
The No. 3-ranked Panthers kick off state football action against winless Cole Valley Christian in first round action of the 2A state playoffs. The Panthers have won seven straight games and enter the playoffs with a 47-12 victory over Melba a week ago.
The win clinched Parma’s first outright Western Idaho Conference title since 2002.
In the game against Melba, quarterback Rance Portenier threw for 360 yards, as Parma jumped out for 35 first-quarter points and cruised the rest of the way.
On the year, Parma’s offense has taken the spotlight with 243 points scored for an average of 30.3 points per contest.
Portenier, who missed the first two games because of a knee injury, has thrown for 1,023 yards and eight touchdowns.
The ground game is where the Panthers have excelled with more than 1,800 yards coming from several sources.
Dalton Koplin leads the way with 754 yards rushing and has scored nine touchdowns with seven coming on the ground.
Israel Urabazzo and Lance Johnson have also chipped in solid numbers.
Not to be outdone, the Panther defense has given up an average of 6.5 points a game and has allowed less than 10 points on five different occasions.
“They play together and they understand where their help is coming from,” Parma head coach Greg Asbury said. “We do not have one superstar on defense, just 11 guys that play really hard and tackle well. Their attention to detail and attention to fundamentals has made us a good football team.”
Randy Riley leads the stout linebacking corps with 95 tackles, Urabazzo has 93 and James Stell has racked up 83 tackles in the 5-2 Eagle defensive scheme. The Parma secondary has also put up some solid numbers with 16 interceptions and are led by Cameron Stewart, who has four interceptions.
“Our secondary has played well,” Asbury said. “We allow only a handful of yards rushing. In high school football, it’s hard to throw the ball and win games. We try to take the running game away and make them throw and we have been successful doing that.”
For Asbury, he said the test will be in keeping his team focused on one game at a time and not letting up.
