Gentry makes Siloam work for win

Pioneers held the lead over Panthers during part of the first half

Gentry senior Tanner Coy breaks through the line and picks up a few yards for Gentry on Friday.
Gentry senior Tanner Coy breaks through the line and picks up a few yards for Gentry on Friday.

— The Pioneers gave the Panthers a run for their money in the non-conference game on a damp Friday night in Pioneer Stadium but in the end lost by a score of 33-16.

The Panthers scored on their first possession of the ballgame, but several miscues afterward led to Gentry scoring nine unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 9-6 lead.

Pioneers quarterback Dylan Ochs completed 12 of 17 passes in the first half for 86 yards and rushed for a one-yard touchdown. Running back Tanner Coy also added a 30-yard field goal for Gentry (0-3) with 6 minutes, 10 seconds left in the half to take the 3-point lead.

Siloam Springs retook the lead with 2:37 remaining in the half. Alexander broke a 42-yard run and Pippin rushed for 12 yards and 13 yards down to the 15. After an 11-yard pass to Austin Van Poucke, Pippin carried for two yards for the score.

Gentry nearly got the lead back before halftime but a penalty wiped out a touchdown pass from Ochs to Coy.

“Penalty on a touchdown pass brings that back,” Gentry coach Brian Little said. “You can’t make those kind of mistakes that take points off the board,” he said.

Down 13-9, the Pioneers moved into Siloam Springs territory to start the secondhalf, but the drive stalled at the 34-yard line and Gentry was forced to punt and pinned Siloam Springs on its own 4.

Alexander gave the Panthers some breathing room with a 13-yard run. Pippin later found Ryan Smith for a 30-yard gain into Gentry territory. A 16-yard pass from Pippin to Van Poucke put the ball on the 18 and Alexander ran it in on the next play for a 20-9 lead.

Siloam Springs junior running back Scout Alexander rushed for 215 yards on 16 carries and scored three touchdowns for the Panthers (3-0). Senior quarterback Braden Pippin alsoscored two touchdowns as the Panthers piled 441 yards of offense, including 308 in the running game.

Gentry added a late touchdown by Coy in the fourth quarter of both teams’ final non-conference game.

“I thought our kids came out really flat, but give Gentry credit,” Siloam Springs coach Bryan Ross said. “Coach Little had them ready and they played hard, gave us all we wanted. We did see our kids respond in the third quarter.”

“For three weeks we can’t finish,” Little said. “We get beat in the fourth quarter. We’ve got to find a way tofinish a ballgame and play four quarters.”

“I was proud, once again, of our kids' effort,” Little wrote in his game summary. “They played hard and fought all night long. We improved from last week - especially on offense - and that was our goal. If you don’t turn the ball over, then you give yourself a chance to win.”

Gentry will start conference play this Friday at Farmington. Gentry’s Seventh Grade and Junior High teams will host Farmington on Thursday.

Graham Thomas contributed to this article.

Sports, Pages 9 on 09/21/2011