Pequannock has their two game winning streak snapped

By Steve Janoski

PEQUANNOCK —  If the past two weeks' wins against Boonton and Whippany Park were big steps forward for the Pequannock Panthers, Friday night's 35-12 loss to the Kinnelon Colts was a full step back as the team fell behind early and was never able to recover its momentum.

Most of the points came from the Colts' brutal duo of quarterback Sean Robbins and receiver Connor Villante, who hooked up five times for 205 yards and three first-quarter touchdowns of 40, 50, and 71 yards.

Robbins also managed to hit receiver Joe Presti mid-way through the second for a 19-yard touchdown that extended the lead to 29-0.

"It's so hard to simulate what it is that they do in practice, the speed and the physical play that they presented to us," head coach Ed Kopp said after the game. "We kinda challenged our guys to go 'mano y mano' with their wide receivers, make (Robbins) throw the ball…but Robbins is a hell of a player and you gotta' tip your hat to his performance."

The game was not without its highlights for the 2-6 Panthers, however — as always, senior quarterback Luke Foukas led the way, and his hard running would lead him to the endzone twice — once in the second quarter, and again in the culmination of a six-minute drive late in the fourth that saw him turn three fourth-down conversions before scoring on a 23-yard dash.

He would finish with 25 carries for 193 yards, but Kopp said the strain of playing both ways is taking a physical toll on the keystone player. However, with Pequannock receivers dropping a number of balls throughout the game, the coach's options sometimes appear limited.

"Ultimately, we need to be able to throw the football…it's hard on a kid to tackle on defense, then run as hard as he is …and then sit back in the pocket and throw the ball," he said. "(Foukas) has been a solid performer all year-long, we just need to get a little bit more out of everybody else."

There were other bright spots as well: the Panthers defense, so porous in the first half during the midst of Kinnelon's fireworks show, strengthened in the second half as well — twice, they stifled the Colts' red-zone drives, and forced them to go for field goals of 26 and 32 yards (both of which kicker Evan Argiriou made.)

However, there were no moral victories for the Panthers, said Kopp.

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/175184761_Pequannock_has_their_two_game_winning_streak_snapped.html