Eric Harrell rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 26 carries and Jarius McMillan returned a punt seven yards for a late touchdown as top-ranked Dr. Phillips survived a scare against Metro rival Edgewater, 21-14. DP (7-0) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter but a second quarter fumble in the endzone and a penalty-laden second half kept the Panthers from establishing an offensive flow.
After the Panthers’ first series a punt by Ricky Buckner bounced off an Edgewater player and was recovered by Ian O’Grady at the Eagles’ 31 yard line. After Deionte Gaines broke free for a 15-yard gain, Eric Harrell punched it in from five yards out to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead. The DP defense stuffed Edgewater on their ensuing possession. On the next series, facing third and seven from their own 30, quarterback Stephen Maloney hit wide receiver Roderick Proctor on a quick slant and the junior darted 70 yards for the touchdown, a career-long for both players. That would be the last time the offense found the endzone.
The Panthers gave a score back to the Eagles on their third possession. After an Edgewater punt pinned them back at their own eight yard line, back to back penalties pushed DP deeper in the hole, at their own two. A mishandled snap resulted in a fumble recovery by Edgewater in the endzone to cut the lead in half, 14-7. DP’s next possession netted negative five yards and resulted in great field position for Edgewater at the DP 44. Four plays later, the Eagles connected on a 32-yard touchdown pass that tied the game and quieted the home crowd.
Good defense and penalties kept both teams scoreless until the fourth quarter. The Panther defense pushed Edgewater to their own one yard line. Facing third and 17, Edgewater called for a quick kick, with quarterback JB Woodman taking the snap and punting it away unexpectedly. But a strong defensive surge up front by Victor Clavier and Chadwick Williams obstructed the punt, causing it to sail directly into the hands of linebacker Jarius McMillan who took it to the house from seven yards out to give the Panthers a 21-14 lead with 4:49 remaining in the game.
On their next possession, the Eagles drove 26 yards to the DP 43 but cornerback Davin Pierce leaped high and intercepted a third down pass at the Panthers’ 22. After Edgewater forced a three and out, the Eagles had one last gasp starting at their own 48. Three first downs drove them to the DP 13 yard line with just seven seconds left in the game. After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Woodman took the next snap, rolled out of the pocket to his right to escape the rush and sailed a pass toward the endzone but safety Matt Milano knocked it away at the goal line as time expired to give DP the 21-14 victory.
For the third consecutive year and seventh time in program history, Men’s Swimming can lay claim to the Metro West Conference Championship. Senior Ian Perkins and junior John Meisenheimer earned four gold medals apiece while junior Ian Supra and sophomore Evan Staton picked up three titles of their own. Opening things up for DP in the 200 medley relay, senior Chris Ohe, sophomore Gabe Baytan, junior John Meisenheimer and junior Eduardo Macias set the tone with a championship time of 1:47.35. Ian Perkins followed suit in the 200 freestyle, touching the wall first at 1:50.44. John Meisenheimer quickly added his second title of the night with a 2:02.44 finish in the 200 individual medley while sophomore Ryan Messinger took home the bronze in 2:20.89. In the day’s fastest event, Ian Supra struck gold in the 50 free with a time of 22.78 followed by teammate Eduardo Macias with the silver in 23.37. Although DP did not win the 100 fly, they still picked up valuable points with Gabe Baytan earning the bronze in 58.81 and senior Evan Olivares placing fourth at 1:01.65. The Panthers got back on top of the podium in the 100 freestyle with Ian Perkins taking top honors in 49.06 and Ian Supra earning third in 49.74. DP crushed the 500 freestyle with John Meisenheimer earning gold (4:51.50), Chris Ohe taking the silver (5:30.14) and sophomore Andrew Sweet placing fourth (5:37.02). The Panthers flexed their muscles in the 200 freestyle relay as Ian Perkins, Eduardo Macias, Ian Supra and Evan Staton finished first in 1:31.42. In the 100 backstroke, Chris Ohe’s time of 1:01.45 was good for the silver medal with sophomore Anshul Devnani’s time of 1:06.26 earning him a fourth place finish. In the 100 breaststroke, Evan Staton picked up his second title in 1:00.97, Gabe Baytan took the bronze in 1:07.06 and senior Reed Davis turned in a fourth place showing in 1:08.67. The night’s final event turned out to be one of DP’s best as the 400 freestyle relay team of Ian Perkins, Ian Supra, John Meisenheimer and Evan Staton wrapped up the team title with a gold medal time of 3:21.38.
Women’s Swimming finished second by just three points, but took home gold medals in all 11 events. Three swimmers were crowned conference champions in four events: senior Angela Algee, junior Allie Magrino and sophomore Emily Kliewer, while freshman Blake Broullire and junior Cindy Cheng won conference titles in three events each. In the day’s first event, the 200 medley relay, Cindy Cheng, Emily Kliewer, Blake Broullire and Allie Magrino crushed the field with a time of 1:53.76 to kickstart the DP machine. In the 200 freestyle, Allie Magrino’s time of 1:58.68 was good for gold while sophomore Rikki Price placed fourth at 2:02.39. Emily Kliewer won her second gold in the 200 individual medley (2:17.74) with sophomore Sunny Zhu taking third at 2:21.64. In the 50 freestyle, Angela Algee picked up the first of her four golds in 25.38 with Blake Broullire coming in fourth in 26.24. The 100 fly saw Emily Kliewer touch the wall for her third title with a time of 1:01.38 and DP picked up major points in the 100 freestyle with Angela Algee (1st in 54.62), Cindy Cheng (2nd in 55.62) and Rikki Price (4th in 56.58). Allie Magrino claimed her third gold of the day in the 500 freestyle (5:19.91) and the Panthers’ 200 freestyle relay team of Rikki Price, Sunny Zhu, Blake Broullire and Angela Algee blew away the competition with a time of 1:42.88. In the 100 backstroke, Cindy Cheng’s time of 1:00.06 gave DP their ninth victory and in arguably the night’s most impressive performance, the 100 breaststroke trio of Blake Broullire, senior Heather MacNeil and Sunny Zhu followed up with a clean sweep of the medals. That set the stage for the grand finale, the 400 freestyle relay, where Cindy Cheng, Allie Magrino, Emily Kliewer and Angela Algee closed out the night with a convincing gold medal time of 3:41.30.
Women’s Volleyball battled valiantly but couldn’t hold off the Wildcats in a 25-20, 27-25, 15-25, 25-21 defeat. Much like Tuesday night, the stats were spread across the court for the Panthers with Rachel Sawyer accounting for ten kills and 14 digs, Briana Jackson picking up 24 assists, 14 digs and two blocks, Hannah Schaible registering eight kills, ten digs and five blocks, Marianna Diegues totaling eight kills, 11 digs and a pair of aces and Michelle Maki closing with eight kills, eight digs and three blocks.
