Kern, Panthers use big second half to down Red Devils

ARLINGTON – McComb came into this season with just 26 names on its roster.The Panther players are aware of that number, but it hasn't seemed to affect their play."We have a lot of guys who want to win," said McComb junior Luke Kern. "That's all you need."Kern would know.In Friday's 42-7 Blanchard Valley Conference win at Arlington, Kern did the work of several players.He caught nine passes for 82 yards, which included a 13-yard touchdown completion from McComb quarterback Ashtin Gallagher.Kern returned a third-quarter punt 45 yards to the Red Devils' 13, then carried the ball into the end zone on the next offensive play.On defense, he intercepted Arlington quarterback Alex Crawford in the fourth quarter.He also converted all six of the Panthers extra-point kicks.All in a day's work for Kern."We work all the time in the offseason, and that helps prepare me," Kern said. "We don't have a lot of people, but we just want to go out there, we want to win, so I'm gonna do whatever I can to help our team win."McComb dominated the second half, and after McComb's final touchdown – the second rushing score of the night by Kahle Drown – there was a running clock.But the game was tight into the third quarter.McComb grabbed a 7-0 lead on the Gallagher-to-Kern TD strike in the first quarter, but in the second, Arlington got a big play.With McComb's offense facing a second and long at the Red Devils' 37, Arlington's Karsen Kochenberger stepped in front of a Gallagher pass and picked it off.With about two minutes left in the half and Arlington at the McComb 41, Crawford lofted a rainbow that came down into the arms of a wide-open Trevor Anderson, who raced to the end zone and tied the game at 7."We felt we needed to take some shots against them," said Arlington coach Nick Inbody. "It's hard to drive the field against (McComb's) defense. We took a shot with Trevor. Alex threw a good ball, and it was a big play for us."McComb quickly regrouped. After a short kick gave the Panthers possession near midfield, McComb's offense used short, quick passes to move down the field."That's what we have to do, take what the defense gives us," said McComb coach Kris Alge, "And they were giving us that little hitch route."After a 10-yard pass to Drown moved McComb to the 17, Gallagher found Carter Frater over the middle for a touchdown with 25 seconds remaining."(Gallagher) did a nice job of sticking it to him," Alge said. "That was huge, because Arlington was fighting."In the second half, Arlington – which came in 0-6 – struggled."Momentum got going in their direction," Inbody said. "It wasn't good from there."Arlington had special teams issues. In addition to giving up a big punt return to Kern, the Red Devils also were unable to get a punt off deep in their own territory due to a high snap.That led to another McComb score.Later, the Panthers added a 1-yard touchdown run from Gallagher.The McComb quarterback completed 22 of 25 passes for 180 yards. Drown added an interception for the Panthers, who improved to 5-1, 3-1 in the BVC."This is a good win for us, it's No. 5," Alge said. "We just have to keep staying healthy and keep getting better."McComb will host Pandora-Gilboa next week in another BVC game. The Red Devils will host Riverdale. McComb 7 7 14 14 --42 Arlington 0 7 0 0 -- 7 FIRST QUARTER McC -- Luke Kern 13 pass from Ashtin Gallagher (Kern kick) SECOND QUARTER ARL -- Trevor Anderson 41 pass from Alex Crawford (Chayse Simon kick) McC -- Carter Frater 17 pass from Gallagher (Kern kick) THIRD QUARTER McC -- Kern 13 run (Kern kick) McC --Kahle Drown 5 run (Kern kick) FOURTH QUARTER McC -- Gallagher 1 run (Kern kick) McC -- Drown 1 run (Kern kick)