Parkway Serves Hungry Fans Roasted Pig in Home Opener

After being deprived of having the opportunity to watch their Panthers for almost 11 months, Parkway fans packed Preston Crownover Stadium to finally watch their team manhandle Arkansas High 41-14. The blossoming Panthers squad shined with a fireworks display of offense and a defensive performance that would even impress Pete Carroll’s Seahawks.

Parkway had a slow start thanks to an early Jared Lancaster tipped pass that lead into an interception for the Razorbacks. With the favorable field position, it only took Arkansas 8 plays to score on the Panthers. After a couple of failed drives due to dropped passes/overthrows and a blocked field goal attempt, Parkway scored thanks to a Dante Williams forced fumble on Arkansas’s 6 yard line. Stacy McCray juked past defenders to tie the game 7-7 on a 6-yard run to close out the quarter.

After giving the fans a reason to be on edge, the Panthers offense exploded in the second quarter. William McKnight scored 2 rushing touchdowns on short yard runs and McCray turned on the jets to burn the Razorbacks secondary on a long 46-yard receiving touchdown. Demetrius McAtee shined averaging 11.75-yards a carry and closed out the second quarter with a 19-yard TD reception. With a half time score of 34-7 Parkway, both coaches agreed to a running clock and let their subs gain ample experience for a final score of 41-14.

Parkways had a balanced attack with 308 yards of total offense- 133 rushing, 175 passing. Panthers relied on a plethora of backs to handle the load with the main rushers being Demetrius McAtee 47 yards, Stacy McCray 33 yards & 1 TD, and William McKnight 15 yards 2 TDs. Keondre Wudtee is settling nicely into the offense and improving his performance each game. The young QB went 7-18 for 163 yards with 2 TDs, 1 INT.

Defensively, Parkway performed on an exceptionally high level with two interceptions and four forced fumbles. Parkways secondary (self-named “The NoFlyZone”) had an outstanding showing, holding the Razorbacks to just 27 passing yards. Key players, C.J. Morgan and Dante Williams locked it down with sticky coverage and never let their man break free all game. Dante Williams also showed those hands aren’t just good at deflecting passing and was credited with forcing two fumbles. Juwon Johnson and Peyton Bush each nabbed an interception and helped stamp the message that you can’t beat this Panther team by going to the air. Kyle Stills continues to have a strong season and pressured the quarterback all game, while Semaj Tarver led the team in tackles with 6.

Parkway looks to make it 3-0 against out of state teams with a win against Bastrop High School (Texas) this Friday at Preston Crownover Stadium.