Panthers roll past Principia, stay unbeaten in SLIAC
Oct. 25, 2008

ELSAH, Ill. – LaGrange College scored on its first six possessions and went on to a 59-13 SLIAC win over Principia on Saturday at Clark Field. The win was the sixth straight for the Panthers, now 7-1 overall and a perfect 5-0 in SLIAC play. Principia dropped to 0-8 overall and 0-5 in the conference.

The Panthers had 428 yards of total offense, 287 coming on the ground. Mario Wallace rushed for a game-high 130 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns, all of it in the first half. It was Wallace's second straight 100 yard rushing game and third of the year. It was also his second three touchdown game. Gerald Reed added another 72 yards and two touchdowns.

The Panthers had a season-low 141 yards passing. Quarterbacks Drew Carter and Brett Mason were a combined 16-for-21 with no interceptions. Carter had 104 yards and two touchdowns in just over two quarters of play.

The Panthers limited Principia to -45 yards of total offense in the first half and 102 total yards in the game. The host Panthers had -11 yards rushing for the game.

The Panthers had a school record 10 sacks in the game. Justin Montgomery had two sacks and Richard Okpani had four solo tackles; two for losses with a sack.

In the first half, the Panthers had only one of its scoring drives start on their side of the 50. The first drive covered 44 yards in seven plays. Carter finished the drive with a short 4-yard pass to Colt Shope in the back corner of the end zone.

The Panthers upped their lead to 17-0 by the end of the first quarter. Wallace went 32 yards for his first score of the game to complete a quick two-play 39-yard drive. Josh Stripling hit a short 23-yard field goal at the end of the quarter. He has made six straight field goals over the last three games.

The Panthers had their longest drive of the half in the second quarter. The Panthers went 65 yards in 11 plays to make it 24-0. Wallace's 8-yard run capped the drive. It was the first of three straight possessions Wallace either scored on or set up a score.

A Principia fumble recovered by Jeremy Pickens on the ensuing kickoff set up the Panthers' next score. Wallace covered the 35 yards in two carries, the last for 18 yards and the touchdown to make it 31-0.

Wallace set up the Panthers' final score of the half. He returned a punt 64 yards before going out of bounds at the Principia 4-yard line. Three plays later, Shope scored from the 3-yard line to up the lead to 38-0.

The Panthers closed out the scoring in the second half with a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter and a final one in the fourth quarter. Carter finished his day with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tripp Duke in the third quarter. It was the junior's first collegiate touchdown.

Reed finished the Panthers' scoring. He had a 9-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a 7-yard run in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers finished the road portion of their schedule 5-0 and the month of October 4-0. They close out the regular season at home against Eureka on Nov. 1 and against Huntingdon on Nov. 15.