Parma delivers with second straight championship
Panthers dominate Declo, win 36-20

By Scott Ford
Argus Observer
scottf@argusobserver.com
Saturday, November 21, 2009 11:21 PM PST

Larry Hurrle | Argus Observer Parma’s Trever Kramer (14) rambles for yardage during the Panther repeat championship performance Friday in Pocatello. Parma defeated Declo 32-20 for it second straight 2A state football title.

Pocatello—The Parma Panthers ended their 2A tenure as state champions with a 36-20 victory over the Declo Hornets Friday at Holt Arena in Pocatello.

The Panthers’ defense shut down the Hornets’ defense in the red zone early and often.

 “Our defense made a lot of plays in the fourth quarter,” Parma coach Greg Asbury said. “I don’t know that we wore them down, but they definitely didn’t wear us out like last year. I think we were a little bit bigger and a little stronger than last year. We didn’t wear down.”

Parma scored the game’s first points on an 11-yard run by Lance Johnson. Devin Erickson kicked the point after, and the Panthers led 7-0 with 2:14 left in the opening quarter.

Declo answered with a score late in the second quarter on a 49-yard quarterback draw. Declo failed on the PAT, and Parma led 7-6.

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With 59 seconds remaining in the opening half, Johnson was in the end zone for the second time, this time on a 1-yard run. Erickson’s kick made the score 14-6 at the break.

The Panthers opened the second half of play with a three-play, 65-yard scoring drive, which was capped off by a 57-yard catch and run from Parma quarterback Trever Kramer to Tyler Ford. Erickson’s kick was true, and Parma extended its lead to 21-6 with 10:36 remaining in the third quarter.

Declo, however, was not ready to throw in the towel, and on its first possession of the second half put together a three-play, 65-yard drive that ended in a 64-yard touchdown pass from Declo’s Jeremy Jenkins to McCoy Stoker. Again, the Hornet PAT failed making the score 21-12.

Early in the fourth quarter, Declo was in the end zone again, as it took advantage of a Panther turnover — an interception at the Parma 20-yard line. The score came on a two-yard run by Jenkins, who engineered a 16-play, 73-yard drive. Declo opted for the two-point conversion and were successful, bringing the score to 21-20, Parma, with 9:47 left in regulation.

 “They had us on the ropes, 21-20,” Asbury said. “Our kids showed a lot of heart out there in the fourth quarter. I’m really proud of the entire team. Declo made it close on a couple big plays.”

Parma, not wanting to let its lead slip away, went to work from its own 20-yard line but could not get anything going and was forced to punt. That’s when the game changed. Following a booming kick, the ball bounced into a Declo player, and Parma recovered the pigskin at Declo’s 13-yard line. On the next play, Ford made the Hornets pay for the mistake as he punched the ball into end zone with 7:57 remaining in the game. Erickson’s kick was wide right, but he was run into, which gave the Panthers another shot.

This time, they went for the two points, and Johnson waltzed in to make the score 29-20.

Kramer put the icing on the cake with a late score and Parma claimed its second title in as many years.

“I thought we responded. We were able to punch it in twice and finish the game,” Asbury said.