Parklane Academy took the sledgehammer to Bowling Green — literally and figuratively — Friday night in the prep football season opener for both schools.
Parklane senior wide receiver Joey Day Rushing led the Pioneers onto Charlie Newlon Field at Cowart-Smith Stadium toting a sledgehammer. He deposited the implement in front of the Parklane bench before kickoff.
The imagery soon carried over to the game as Parklane clicked on both sides of the ball en route to a 45-6 victory.
Parklane led 35-0 at halftime. The second half was played with a running clock.
First-year PA coach Mike Powell unveiled his spread offensive attack. It accounted for 321 total yards, including 186 yards rushing.
“No doubt, this feels good to get my first win as a head coach,” Powell said. “Of course, I didn’t get this win all by myself. This was a huge team effort, from the assistant coaches down to the players.”
Powell came to his alma mater after seven years at Brookhaven High School, where he served as offensive coordinator.
Powell had to be pleased with the new offense, which was directed by a first-year starter in junior Brady Lea. The Pioneers scored on their first four possessions and seven of its eight possessions.
“The guys came out and executed the offense. I thought Brady threw the ball well. He did well in his first start,” Powell said. “It seemed like he was pretty poised and looked like he made the right reads. He threw a couple of balls right on the money.”
Senior running back Joseph Clark scored three times in the first half on bursts of 3, 3 and 1 yards. Lea teamed up with sophomore Jack Dumas and senior Justin Brent in the second quarter on a 32-yard scoring tosses.
Injuries forced the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Clark to the sidelines last season, but he still led the Pioneers in rushing.
In the second half, the Pioneers added a 32-yard field goal by Zack McDaniel in the third quarter and a 4-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter by junior Logan Morel.
“Coming out for the third quarter, I felt like we were a little sluggish,” Powell said. “We’re probably not in as good of shape as we need to be. It was humid and that took a toll. I want us to come out for the second half on all cylinders offensively. The defense just kept playing.”
Defensively, Parklane limited Bowling Green to 123 total yards, including 91 yards rushing.
Parklane had eight tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Senior Tyler Stutzman led the defense with five tackles, including two for loss. Junior linebacker Walt Aldridge had 3 1/2 tackles, including 11/2 for loss. Senior linebacker James Michael Schmidt had an interception.
“I thought Tyler Stutzman, James Michael Schmidt, Walt Aldridge and Kaj LeMaire all played well,” Powell said. “We were solid in the box.”
“We had one thing on our minds, and that was to get to the football,” sophomore end Justin Reynolds said.
On the game’s first possession, the Pioneers went up 7-0 after a 10-play, 67-yard drive was capped by Clark’s 3-yard run. The drive consumed 4:48. Out of Stutzman’s hold, McDaniel kicked the first of his six successful PATs.
The Pioneers then went 63 yards in 11 plays to score. Clark scored from 2 yards away.
Schmidt’s pickoff led to PA’s third touchdown, a four-play, 43-yard drive capped off by the 32-yard touchdown reception by Dumas.
Parklane’s Cody Harvey recovered the sky kick on the kickoff. It only took Parklane two plays to cover 30 yards. Lea found Justin Brent alone on the left side for a 26-yard score with 7:26 before halftime.
Clark went in from 1 yard out 18 seconds before intermission after a 12-yard Buc punt put the hosts in business at the Bowling Green 28. The Pioneers scored in three plays.
Bowling Green’s score came with 1:31 left. Patrick Rublow caught a 32-yard scoring pass from Connor McCain.
Powell said the sledgehammer is a new tradition.
“That’s something that we’ve done in the past. It has to be a legal hit, and the guy who plays physical gets their initials burned forever into the handle,” Powell said. “I’m proud of the effort the guys gave.”
Parklane visits Oak Forest on Friday.
