If you’re unable to be here today or to listen to the live audio, allow me to detail the Panthers game plan on offense:

1. Line up.
2. Smash ball down field for four to seven yards.
3. Repeat until end zone reached.

Their third-quarter touchdown drive covered 85 yards in 14 plays, all but one of them on the ground - and as the fourth quarter begins, they’re back at it.  The Panthers have run 50 plays, for 280 yards; Holy Family has run 28 plays, for 56 yards.

On the other hand, GSL did miss an extra point, so clearly, work remains.

It’s been all Panthers so far, as the Fire have only two first downs in the game - and one of them came via a questionable pass interference call.  About all Holy Family has been able to manage is a missed 42-yard field goal try as the half expired.

Meanwhile, Glencoe-Silver Lake has broken out the Morphine offense (it’s numbing, but effective.)  The Panthers have 172 total yards, to the Fire’s 38, and have held the ball for nearly 15 minutes.  110 of those yards have come on the ground; they have completed just two passes, but one was a 35-yard touchdown bomb (on fourth-and-12, no less), and one was a 27-yard swing pass to Aaron Lueders - who leads all players with 106 total yards.

The Panthers are more or less just lining up and plowing over the Fire.  GSL got the ball first and reeled off twelve straight rushing plays, marching 61 yards for a score.  They’ve attempted one pass, and I don’t know why - they’re picking up about six yards a crack on the ground.

There was a strange play near the end of the quarter; Holy Family stopped the Panthers, forcing a punt, and actually partially blocked the punt - but the ball fell right to one of the Panthers, who had the presence of mind to run.  Since the ball never crossed the line of scrimmage, it went down as one of the oddest ten-yard runs you’ll ever see, and a first down for Glencoe.

After scoring twice in the third quarter to erase a 14-3 deficit, Mankato West took advantage of two STMA turnovers to score twice more in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, and suddenly that deficit was a 31-14 advantage. Paul Berndt scored one last time for the Scarlets, late in the game, to add some icing to his 200+ yards rushing.

The win is no more than West’s offense deserved; the Scarlets punted only once in the game, and moved down the field virtually at will.  The star of the day so far might be Mankato West’s Aaron Richter; the wideout caught seven passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for another score.

Mankato West will meet Northfield on Saturday, November 29, at 3:00 in the final game of this year’s Prep Bowl.

Timing update: amazingly, three games are complete, and we’re not far behind schedule for today. (Credit KMS and CGB, which ran the ball 54 times each and kept the clock moving in both of the first two games of the day.) The next game of the day, Glencoe-Silver Lake vs. Holy Family, is set to kick off around 3:15 or 3:20 - more or less right on schedule.

Mankato West has been dominating the stat sheet - and now, finally, they’re winning the battle on the scoreboard as well.  The Scarlets had two more drives of 70+ yards, giving them four for the game… but this time those drives ended in touchdowns.

That said, about the only similar thing about those two drives was the scoring combination - Ray Teachout to Aaron Richter.  The first pass came at the end of a 13-play drive; the second was a 64-yard bomb that put West ahead for the first time in the game.

Early in the third quarter, Kwaku Amoah finally broke loose for St. Michael-Albertville, plunging through the middle and dashing 47 yards, to inside the Mankato West 10.  On the next play, Jason Dehmer swept around right end for the score.  Apart from those moments, though, the Knights have had trouble getting any kind of offensive momentum.

Overall, though, West has been the better team - they’ve outgained STMA 303-139, and had 142 yards of offense in the third quarter alone.

QUICK UPDATE: STMA fumbled on the first play of the fourth quarter; on the very next play, Teachout hit Richter again, from 19 yards out, and it’s now 24-14, Mankato West.