Prairie City/Burnt River unning back Cole Teel takes a handoff from Doyal Lawrence during Prairie City’s 64-2 victory over Dayville/Monument on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

The only football game this season pitting a pair of Grant County teams against one another was a one-sided affair as the Prairie City/Burnt River Panthers overwhelmed the Monument/Dayville Tigers 64-2 on Friday, Sept. 2, in Prairie City.

The Panthers built a 51-0 lead by the end of the first quarter largely due to five Tiger turnovers that all resulted in touchdowns. The Panthers would add another touchdown late in the second quarter to take a commanding 58-0 lead into halftime.

Prairie City was scoreless in the third quarter. Monument/Dayville would capitalize on a Panther fumble in the period, which ultimately led to a safety and their first points of the game. The third quarter ended with Prairie City leading 58-2 headed into the final quarter.

The Panthers would find the end zone one more time in the game and push their lead to 64-2 with 2:40 left in the contest. Monument/Dayville never quit, continuing to try and run their offense and find the end zone until the final minute of the game.

Monument ultimately decided to kneel on the ball and run the final minute of the contest off the clock and end the game at 64-2 in favor of Prairie City.

Monument/Dayville coach Chris Carlin said the turnovers and blocking are going to be points of emphasis for his young team at practice this upcoming week. Carlin also said despite the score, there were a lot of bright spots in the game for his team.

“The younger kids really stepped up and played hard. Our leaders never quit, so I’m very proud of these boys. They played hard against a bigger, faster team,” Carlin said.

Carlin also gave praise to the Panthers for their effort in the contest. “Hats off to Prairie City. They’re a heck of a team. They’ve got some big boys and they’re fast and they hit hard,” he said.

“I’m just proud of how hard they fought,” Carlin said of his squad. “Being down 58-0 and we had a good punt from DJ Heikes and we got a safety from DJ also. He’s a senior and a leader. … I’m just proud of them.”

Prairie City/Burnt River coach Nick Thompson was satisfied with his team’s performance and had some praise of his own for Monument/Dayville following the game.

“I think we saw some good things,” he said. “First off, Dayville is a lot better than they were last year. We were hoping to get a full game this time, so I’m happy with that.”

The Panther defense set the tone early in the game. Thompson called his defensive unit “super-disciplined,” which he said was the result of many hours of work.

“We’ve spent a lot of time teaching, a lot of teaching time,” he added. “I think the biggest thing I saw tonight was, you saw kids literally getting better every single play. They’re learning from the play before and getting better, so I’m super-encouraged with the defense.”

There was a noticeable buzz after the game. Players conversed with fellow students and posed for pictures with coaches and teammates, a dynamic that Thompson noticed and was happy to bring to Prairie City/Burnt River football.

“It feels great,” he said of the postgame environment. “That’s what we’ve been shooting for here, trying to change the culture for the last two years.”

“It was evident today. We show up a half-hour early for the game, and there are more people here before the game than there were for games two years ago. … The buzz is big. We’ve got a great community, great turnout. … That’s a big goal here. We want everybody to come to games and feel welcome at games,” Thompson added.

The loss drops Monument/Dayville to 0-1 on the young season. The Tigers are in action next on Friday, Sept. 9, at home against Huntington. The game has a 1 p.m. kickoff.

Prairie City/Burnt River moves to 1-0 with the home win to open the season. The Panthers are in action again on Friday, Sept. 9, on the road in a massive showdown with defending state champions Wheeler County. Kickoff for that contest is 2 p.m.