It was a promising start for the Pinckneyville Panthers Friday night, as Alex Howard recovered a fumble and took it 57-yards for a touchdown just three minutes into the game.
However, that would be the extent of the Panthers success, as Anna-Jonesboro used a dominant running game to earn a blowout win on its homecoming, 50-7.
The Wildcats took advantage of Pinckneyville fumble late in the first quarter, recovering the turnover at the Panther 20-yard line.
Caleb Corver capped off the short drive with a 6-yard touchdown run. A successful two-point conversion gave the Wildcats the lead, 8-7.
The Wildcats kept things rolling, forcing a Pinckneyville punt midway in the second quarter, returning the punt to the Panther 27 to give them another short field to work with.
The Wildcats capitalized on the short field, punching in a 12-yard on the ground. The PAT was blocked, giving the Wildcats a 14-7 lead with 6:26 left to play in the first half.
Pinckneyville continued to struggle against the Wildcat defense, getting a punt blocked with a little more than two minutes in the half, giving Anna-Jonesboro the ball at its own 48-yard line.
The Wildcats drove 52-yards on 9 plays, with Jayce Turner punching it in on a 1-yard plunge. A successful two-point conversion gave the Wildcats a 22-7 lead with 44 seconds left.
Things only continued to grow worse for the Panthers, fumbling the ensuing kickoff with Anna-Jonesboro recovering at the Panther 18. Turner found the end zone on another 1-yard run as the Wildcats took a dominant 28-7 lead heading into halftime.
The Wildcats continued its offensive frenzy to open the second half, returning the opening kickoff all the way for another touchdown, taking a 36-7 lead.
Anna-Jonesboro closed out the game with two more scores, cruising to a 50-7 homecoming win.
"(The game was) very disappointing," Panthers head coach Todd Thomas said. "We were right in the first half until five minutes (to go) and then it got ugly. I have no explanation for it. I am disappointed. We take pride in playing respectable football and that wasn't very respectable tonight.
"We just have to try and stay positive, keep going and regroup for next week. There's not a night off in this league."
The Panthers now at 1-5, will return home for senior night in a week seven matchup against Nashville who is fresh off a win over Carterville.
"We have to come out ready to play no matter what the situation is," Thomas said. "We can't roll over when things aren't going well. We can't make mistakes, (like) dropped snaps, hiccups on kickoffs. It's an embarrassment the way we played for us."
