By Macerio Clark
The Seattle Medium
On the brink of losing a sixth consecutive game, Seattle Prep wasted no time scoring against the Cleveland Eagles. On their opening drive, Prep scored on an 8 play, 45-yard drive as they took an early 7-0 lead. A key play on the drive was a 13 –yard run by running back Leon Neal, Jr. on a third and long play to keep the Panthers’ scoring drive alive.
The Eagles struggled to move the chains on their opening possession, as they fumbled three consecutive snaps forcing the Eagles to turnover the ball on downs at their own 23-yard line. Seattle Prep quickly responded with a 3 play, 23 yard scoring drive with senior running back Matthew Layton rushing for all 23 of the Panthers yards as they extended lead to 14-0.
Facing a double digit deficit, Cleveland scored in the blink of an eye on an 80-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Anthony Robinson to senior wide receiver Martrez Darden cutting the Panthers lead to 14-7 with 34 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Following the Cleveland score, the Panthers answered with a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by sophomore running back Kendin Alexander extending their lead to 21-7.
Seattle Prep’s defense came out strong in the second quarter allowing only two first downs and outscoring the Eagles 14-0, including an interception by linebacker Jack Huey that he returned 20 yards for a touchdown giving the Panthers a 28-point advantage heading into halftime.
Trailing 35-7 at the half, Cleveland’s offense opened up the half scoring on a 8 play, 70 yard drive capped off by a two-yard rush by Robinson. The drive included a 26-yard reception by sophomore wide receiver Kah’Marion Scipio that placed the Eagles on the Panthers two-yard line.
However, Seattle Prep would run away with this game scoring on its next five offensive possessions, as they cruised to a 70-13 victory over Cleveland to advance in the state playoffs.
Seattle Prep’s ability to spread the ball around to their different offensive weapons was key to victory.
“We really wanted to try to take advantage of all our weapons, we got a lot of kids offensively,” said Seattle Prep head coach Aaron Maul after the game. “[Our game plan was to] be efficient as best as we could, spread the ball around and take advantage of our weapons.”
Pictorial Highlights of Seattle Prep vs Cleveland Metro League Playoff Game
Photos by Adam Myers
