Featured photo by Robert Summerlin
Parkway Head Coach Coy Brotherton knew West Monroe’s regular-season record was not a good indicator of how good of a team the Rebels had.
Long a major power in Class 5A, West Monroe came into Friday night’s non-select Division I first-round game at Bobby Marlow Field at Preston Crownover Stadium at 5-5 and seeded No. 22. The Rebels left with a 35-14 victory over the No. 11 seed Panthers.
“It is what we thought,” Brotherton said. “5-5 but the five teams they lost to are five of the best teams in the state. I think they are going to make a run throughout the playoffs. It’s West Monroe. I thought we played hard. We played good. We did the best we could.”
Parkway overcame a lot this season, but they couldn’t overcome a 28-0 deficit even though it looked briefly like they might.
After West Monroe scored its fourth touchdown with 39 seconds left in the first half, Parkway got back in the game on a 35-yard pass from Gavin Ferrington to Gary Burney on the final play. A successful two-point conversion made it 28-8.
The Panthers then took the second-half kickoff and drove for a touchdown. The try for two was unsuccessful and Parkway trailed 28-14.
Parkway then got the ball back after a big fourth-down stop, but the Panthers couldn’t sustain the momentum.
West Monroe scored a meaningless touchdown on a pass in the game’s final seconds.
Parkway finished 8-3 despite having several key players suspended because of issues within the program around midseason.
Brotherton described the season as “memorable.”
“Just a group of kids that faced adversity and got stronger because of it and grew closer together,” he said. “Just a lot to be happy for and proud for. I told the kids afterwards that this is one of the most fun seasons that I’ve had in the 20 years and one that I’ll remember forever.”
The first half could’ve been closer.
After West Monroe took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, the Rebels recovered a high kickoff at the Parkway 34. It took them two plays to score again.
The Panthers then drove 66 yards. Facing a fourth-and-goal at the 1, Parkway was stopped about an inch short of the goalline.
West Monroe then proceeded to drive 99 yards for its final touchdown of the half.
The Panthers had trouble stopping the run. Quarterback Ryder Dejean also hit some big passes.
The Rebels also had trouble stopping Parkway’s running attack. Senior CJ Dudley finished his outstanding senior season with another big game. He rushed for 157 yards on 35 carries and scored a touchdown.
Dudley finished the season with 1.261 yards on 210 carries. He scored a school record 26 touchdowns.
Ferrington, who didn’t start playing until the fifth game of the season, also performed admirably in his role all season.
Sophomore Gary Burney caught five passes for 83 yards.
Junior linebacker Brady Prine and senior linebacker Christian Harris had a team-high 11 total tackles. Harris also forced a fumble and recovered it.
Junior safety Mark Copenhaver had nine and sophomore tackle Rod Johnson seven.