Week 1 | Le-Win vs West Carroll
Lena -
Lena-Winslow has long been a consistent staple at the top of the NUIC, reaching the playoffs for 18 consecutive years and boasting 2 state championships during that time in the powerful Northwest division. West Carroll has had a string of quality teams, but has not had a lot of success against the top tier teams in the NUIC. The Panthers are notorious for starting the season slow, and come into the 2017 season as the Class 1A #3 ranked team in the state. On the other hand, the Thunder are trying to get back to the playoffs, after missing out last year with a week 9 loss to these Panthers.
Le-Win would begin the night strong, but had some early struggles against a tough Thunder team that many can see as a playoff contender. Leading the charge for the Panthers was All State running back Rhaveon Valentine, as he would score 3 of the Panthers first 4 TD's. The Panthers carried a 14-0 lead into halftime, but the Thunder came out in the 3rd quarter and put a score on the board to make it 14-6. However, Valentine would answer with back to back TD runs to extend the Panther lead to 28-6. West Carroll would spark an attempt at a comeback, however it came a little too late as the Panthers already had the game under control as they pull out the early season win 34-20.
Valentine led the rushing attack with 159 yards on 30 carries to go along with his 3 TD's. Sean Ormiston also cracked the century mark for the Panthers as he rushed for 150 yards on 15 attempts and 1 TD.
Up Next:
Le-Win 1-0 @ Forreston 1-0 | West Carroll 0-1 vs Du-Pec 0-1