Connect with us

Football

KADENA PANTHERS SHUTDOWN VISITING GUAM HIGH

Wyatt Knopp finished the regular season the way he began it, under center for Kadena and helping lead the Panthers to their sixth win in seven regular season games, 14-0 over Guam High on Saturday at Ryukyu Middle School’s Habu Field.

By Dave Ornauer
for Stars and Stripes

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa – Wyatt Knopp finished the regular season the way he began it, under center for Kadena and helping lead the Panthers to their sixth win in seven regular season games, 14-0 over Guam High on Saturday at Ryukyu Middle School’s Habu Field.

The junior filled in at quarterback when starter Eric McCarter was removed in the first quarter after a hard hit following an interception. Knopp returned to the lineup three weeks ago after missing four games with a chest injury suffered in Kadena’s lone loss, 34-33 to Nile C. Kinnick on Sept. 8.

“Wyatt stepped up and did a fantastic job,” coach Sergio Mendoza said.

Knopp entered the contest on Kadena’s second possession and immediately directed the Panthers to a score, on Uriah Morris’ 14-yard run, capping a 12-play, 84-yard drive early in the second quarter.

Morris scored again on a 6-yard run on Kadena’s first second-half possession, which capped another 12-play drive, this time of 65 yards.

McCarter was among several starters removed as a precautionary measure, to keep them healthy for next week’s title game, Mendoza said. “We have to be careful; we have a big game next week,” he said, adding that McCarter wanted to go back in in the second half.

With the win, the Panthers closed the regular season 6-1 with only next week’s Far East Division I title game remaining at Kinnick on Saturday. Guam High closed its season with three straight defeats, finishing 6-5.

Morris led all players with 198 yards on 26 carries in a game played in a first-half downpour. The sides combined for nine turnovers. Guam High’s Travon Jacobs was 8-for-19 for 70 yards and was intercepted three times.

Jeylyn Dowdell, the coach’s son, led Guam High with 86 yards on eight carries. RaSean Jacobs, the quarterback’s brother, had five catches for 83 yards.

This was the first meeting between Guam High and any DODEA-Pacific team in Japan or Korea since Oct. 30, 2010, when Kadena outlasted the Panthers 34-20 in a game also played at Habu Field.

The two schools requested and got permission to play each other in what Guam High coach Jacob Dowdell and Kadena athletics director Tom Bell hope will be the start of a home-and-home annual series. They have dubbed the series the “Typhoon Bowl.”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Bell said.

Despite being held scoreless, Dowdell said he was proud of his charges. “Everyone saw that if you play Guam High, you’re going to be in a fight,” he said. “We can compete with anybody, the best of the best.”

Ad

GPS Sports Calendar

March

April 2025

May
SU
MO
TU
WE
TH
FR
SA
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
Events for March

1st

Events for April

2nd

Events for April

3rd

Events for April

4th

Events for April

5th

6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Events for April

5th

No Events
Events for April

7th

Events for April

8th

Events for April

9th

Events for April

10th

Events for April

11th

Events for April

12th

13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Events for April

13th

Events for April

14th

Events for April

15th

Events for April

16th

Events for April

16th

No Events
Events for April

18th

Events for April

18th

No Events
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Events for April

19th

No Events
Events for April

21st

Events for April

22nd

Events for April

23rd

Events for April

24th

Events for April

25th

Events for April

26th

27
28
29
30
1
2
3
Events for April

26th

No Events
Events for April

28th

Events for April

29th

Events for April

30th

COMING SOON …

4th Quarter Sports: boys volleyball, girls soccer, paddling, track & field

Scrap 5 on April 25

QUICK HITS

Guam’s Wayne Blas completed his 13th Boston Marathon and 38th marathon overall.
The island’s record holder in the distance, Blas finished this year in 2:35:21.
“I’m very happy with this result because seven months ago, I was sidelined with a stress fracture that kept me out for three months. No running! To come back on an abbreviated marathon build and finish one of the toughest races strong and healthy was a big win for me.”
His time of 2:29:38 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon and World Marathon Majors Age Group Championships stands as the Guam National Record.
May be an image of 1 person and text
——————————————–

More in Football