With under 10 minutes to play in last night’s class 1A postseason matchup on the KRLS2 stream at www.kniakrls.com, Pella Christian held a 21-6 lead over Panorama. Eight minutes later, the Panthers trailed just 21-19 and had first down and goal at the Eagles’ five yard line.

P.C. freshman nose tackle Trevor Veenstra drew his second holding call of the game on the next play, forcing Panorama back to the 15. Then Panther quarterback Domonic Walker bolted toward the end zone, when Cody Boender punched it free and the Eagles recovered, preserving a two-point victory for coach Rich Kacmarynski’s club.

KAC ON DEFENSIVE STOP
“We were kind of on the rocks there. They were driving on us, and to get that turnover was the game winner. But our defense has been kind of playing like that all year. They find a way to get stops and keep the other team out of the end zone. People say bend but don’t break, but our defense finds a way to get things done and that’s a good characteristic for a playoff team.”

Panorama started the scoring with a Walker touchdown run on the opening drive of the game, but the extra point was blocked. On the ensuing drive, Pella Christian scored on 4th-and-6 from the eight when Isaac Kacmarynski hit Eric Mulder on a jump ball in the back of the end zone. The extra point was good, and the 7-6 score stuck until halftime.