Althauser provides a rush for McComb against Red Devils

McCOMB – McComb coach Kris Alge said he saw something in running back Braxton Althauser Friday night against Arlington. "Tonight, he had that will that I know he has in him," Alge said after the Panthers 49-21 win over Arlington. "He has shown it at times, but tonight he showed it the whole game. He fumbled once, but he was fighting for yardage. He wasn't going down with one hit." Althauser carried the ball 29 times, rushing for 391 yards and touchdowns of 66, 45, 26, 56 and 31 yards. It was an enormous game for Althauser, but the senior was quick to share the credit. "Just good play calling by our coach, honestly," he said. "Good blocks by our line. Everyone wanted to come play today." Althauser also returned a kickoff 66 yards to the end zone in the first quarter. When I picked (the ball) up and saw it, I was looking around," Althauser said, "and I saw the spot and just took off from there." "We don't look at who scored, who's running it, we just look at 'Are we winning games?'" Alge said. "That's our main objective, but that was huge." McComb (6-1, 3-1 BVC ) – which also got a 45-yard touchdown run from quarterback Blake Wittenmyer -- outscored Arlington 28-0 in the second half. But for a half, the game was very close. McComb jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but the Red Devils' Ayden Cavinee broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7. After Alhauser's kickoff return restored McComb's 14-point lead, Cavinee got free again, running 52 yards down to the Panthers' 1. Two plays later, Arlington quarterback Trenton Heacock scored on a sneak to make it 21-14. That was the score after one quarter. In the second quarter, the only TD was scored by Heacock, who ran around the right end for a 90-yard touchdown that tied the game at 21. "We knew McComb, they like to jump on teams early and you kind of have to weather the storm a little bit, be able to respond," said Arlington coach Josh McGrain. "I thought our kids did that, especially in that first half. It could have gotten ugly really, really quick, but our kids dug in." On McComb's first possession of the second half, Cavinee – who had run for 125 yards on eight carries – went down with an injury. Play was stopped for several minutes as Cavinee was attended to. He left the field in an ambulance. "It seemed like in the first half, it was those two kids (Cavinee and Althauser) battling back and forth a little bit with big plays," McGrain said. "It was really unfortunate he went down. Obviously, just praying that he's gonna be OK." Alge – who like McGrain, graduated from Arlington – expressed support for Cavinee and the Red Devils afterward. "Hats off to them, man," he said. "Twenty-one (Cavinee's jersey number), he's a player. I feel terrible for them. I hope he's gonna be OK. I'll tell you what, he's a load, and he's the real deal." "(Arlington) didn't give up. That's who they are." Heacock finished with 123 yards on 13 carries. He completed 5-of-12 throws for 95 yards, but was intercepted twice, once each by Brayden Shoop and Chase Woodruff. Arlington also lost a pair of fumbles in dropping to 3-3, 1-2 in the BVC. The Red Devils host Riverdale next week. McGrain said his team will have to bounce back. "We've got no choice," he said. "That's the biggest thing. There's no choice. We've got Riverdale next week, and it's gonna be a tough opponent, a rivalry game." The Panthers will host Elmwood next week. Despite the win, Alge still sees things his team can clean up. But Althauser carried the Panthers through it. "He was a gamer tonight, and we need him to be that every Friday night," Alge said. Arlington 14 7 0 0 – 21 McComb 21 0 14 14 – 49 First Quarter McC – Braxton Althauser 67 run (Chase Woodruff kick) McC – Althauser 45 run (Woodruff kick) Arl – Ayden Cavinee 60 run (Wesley Hartman kick) McC –Althauser 65 kickoff return (Woodruff kick) Arl – Trenton Heacock 1 run (Hartman kick) Second Quarter Arl – Heacock 90 run (Hartman kick) Third Quarter McC – Althauser 26 run (Woodruff kick) McC – Althauser 56 run (Woodruff kick) Fourth Quarter McC – Blake Wittenmyer 46 run (Woodruff kick) McC – Althauser 31 run (Woodruff kick).