Despite amassing more than 300 passing yards the Bartlett Panthers struggled to score against White Station Friday night on the road and eventually fell 45-17.
The Spartan’s strong run attack punished Bartlett throughout the night as White Station scored three rushing touchdowns in the first quarter and two more before halftime.
Down 21-0 going into the second quarter, Bartlett got its first points of the game on a rushing touchdown courtesy of junior quarterback Preston Raines. While he only picked up 5 yards with his feet in the game, he was able to throw for 316 yards and completed nearly 70 percent of his passes.
White Station responded to Bartlett’s first score with another rushing touchdown. Then Panther kicker Noah Buckingham nailed a 30-yard field goal to narrow the score to 28-10. The Spartans would score again before the half.
Neither team managed to score in the third quarter but Bartlett picked up another touchdown late, this time on a passing touchdown from Raines to Tamarious Brown. The sophomore receiver had 3 catches and 71 yards in the game.
White Station would respond, putting the game further out of reach.
Other Panther receivers with notable nights included Phillip Thompson IV who caught 5 passes for 97 yards and senior Nathan Johnson who caught 3 passes for 50 yards.
On defense, senior JJ Vaden paced the Panthers with 7 tackles. Senior Ethan Reeves chipped in 4 tackles and a quarterback sack. Junior Demitrius Bell had an interception and 3 tackles.
Bartlett is now 3-3 on the season and scheduled to play at rival Arlington this Friday night at 7 p.m. The Tigers (4-2) are coming off of a big 45-31 win over Liberty Tech Magnet.
GRAHAM SWEENEY is the editor of the Shelby Sun Times and the Collierville Independent. Contact him at graham.sweeney@journalinc.com.
