PREP FOOTBALL: E'town cruises past Bardstown Bethlehem (8/31)

By GREG CREWS gcrews@thenewsenterprise.com CECILIA — During the first quarter of the opening game of the R-Cubed Printing Bowl on Friday, officials mistakenly flagged the Elizabethtown Panthers for having too many men on the field. Though the flag was waived off, it was easy to see why the official might have thought the Panthers had an unfair advantage against the Bardstown Bethlehem Eagles. Within 3 minutes of action, Elizabethtown had racked up 109 total yards and two touchdowns — the Eagles had minus-6 yards. By the time the smoke cleared, Elizabethtown senior Micheal Thomas had tallied six touchdown passes in his debut as the Panthers’ starting quarterback, leading Elizabethtown to a 55-12 victory in its season opener at Central Hardin High School. “I can’t ask for anything better. Receivers, running backs, line, everybody did an awesome job tonight,” Thomas said. “All that stuff was great offensively, but I have to hand it to our defense too, they did a heck of a job.” Thomas completed 78 percent of his passes (14-for-18) for 268 yards, while throwing no interceptions. “I don’t know if I expected that, but I know he has the potential for those kinds of numbers,” Elizabethtown coach Brad Todd said. “I think he is going to do a very good job for us this year.” On the receiving end of several of Thomas’ passes was wide receiver Chris Gohman, who kicked off his senior campaign with 106 yards and three touchdowns on five catches, while also returning a punt for a touchdown. Also coming up big for Elizabethtown was senior running back Cody Withers, who rushed for 106 yards on nine carries and caught two passes for another 31 yards. “The line blocked great tonight. They did their jobs,” Withers said. “They were low, they got their hats low, they got underneath guys and they were moving them. They did a great job.” Bethlehem had a 100-yard rusher of its own, as senior Cameron Wilson picked up 115 yards on 17 carries. However, that was about the only bright spot for the Eagles. “We were pretty banged up and pretty inexperienced. We had a lot of guys playing out of position and it showed,” Bethlehem coach Stan Torzewski said. “We’re young and we have a lot of room for growth. We have a lot of potential and we have to take what we can from this game and move on.” After jumping out to a 12-0 lead in the first 3 minutes as Thomas found senior wide receiver Trevor Deneen on a 25-yard strike and Gohman on 24-yard strike, Elizabethtown extended its lead to 19-0 as Thomas hooked up with sophomore tight end Mitchell Henry for a 30-yard touchdown, and then kicked the extra point. Bethlehem got on the board with 1:32 left in the first quarter, when senior linebacker Nick Galloway picked up a fumbled Elizabethtown snap and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers responded with a highlight of their own as freshman Devante Clarkson turned a screen pass into a 47-yard touchdown as he juked past defenders on his way to the end zone for a 26-6 lead. Seventy-six seconds later, Elizabethtown was back in the end zone as Gohman returned a punt 60 yards for a score and a 32-6 lead. Freshman quarterback Kyle Todd made his first-ever varsity appearance in the second quarter, completing his first three passes before finding Gohman for a 12-yard touchdown to extend Elizabethtown’s lead to 39-6 before the half. The Panthers kept pouring it on in the second half, with Thomas hitting Deneen on a 7-yard touchdown strike before finding Gohman on a 24-yard touchdown pass later in the third quarter. Thomas capped his impressive debut with a 28-yard field goal in the fourth quarter for a 55-6 lead. After Wilson picked up 73 yards on two carries, junior quarterback Dalton Reed found junior running back Luke Wimpsett on a 12-yard touchdown pass to shrink the margin to 55-12 with a little more than 3 minutes remaining, but Bethlehem would get no closer. Greg Crews can be reached at 505-1754

Neal Cardin

Elizabethtown's Cody Withers busts through the Bardstown Bethlehem defense for a big gain Friday night in the R-Cubed Printing Bowl at Bruin Field.

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Neal Cardin

Elizabethtown's Devante Clarkson pulls down a pass in the second quarter against Bardstown Bethlehem on Friday night in the R-Cubed Printing Bowl at Bruin Field.

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Neal Cardin

Elizabethtown's Chris Gohman leaves the Bardstown Bethlehem defense behind after catching a Kyle Todd pass in the second quarter of the opening game of the R-Cubed Printing Bowl at Bruin Field on Friday night.

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