Panthers crush Red Devils behind huge night from Johnson
By Omar Al- Kotob
Special to the Bartlett Express
The Bartlett Panthers shutout Region 8-6A rival the Germantown Red Devils 19-0 in high school football action last Thursday night.
Bartlett gave Germantown no chance on the turf of Bartlett Football Stadium with their star running back Geron Johnson Jr.. Johnson scored three touchdowns carrying the ball 39 times for 295 yards.
“It was awesome man, I had to put the team on my back, just come out and dog it out,” Johnson said. “The first touchdown brought the momentum. It was like I brought the whole team back. We picked up after that, we were gone.”
The Panthers (4-4,3-2 in Region 8-6A) defense was a big part of last week’s win sacking the Red Devil quarterback 12 times and limiting their offense to only 132 yards. Panther linebacker Austin Howard was a big part of the Panthers defensive effort with 5 tackles.
“Our defense today was just amazing,” Howard said. “D-line really cleaned up everything and made the linebackers job easy. Today’s game was a momentum change. We really needed this one. Coming off two losses we really need this one to turn around and get us on a playoff push.”
The Red Devils dropped to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the league. After several recent loses, last Thursday’s game was a must win for the Panthers.
“It was an intense game,” Bartlett Head Coach Chris Smith concluded. “Everybody knew what was on the line tonight. Our guys showed up, played the game. I thought they could play all along. They finally got it together, played as a team. The players stepped up and led the team this week. We’ve been saying it since I got here. It’s got to be a player-led team. When your players lead, it’s a great team. Coach less. It’s a good team.”
Germantown returns to action Oct. 25 at home taking on the Arlington Tigers at 7 p.m. The Panthers will travel that night to Cordova for a 7 p.m. kickoff trying to enhance their playoff chances.
