Parma Western scores 51 unanswered to race past Coldwater
COLDWATER – The Coldwater Cardinal football team took a road trip Friday night, traveling to Parma Western hoping to bring home their first win of the 2023 season against the playoff bound Panthers.
Coldwater kept things close after one quarter, with the score sitting at 14-7, but Parma Western kept their foot on the gas, scoring 51 unanswered points to pull away for the big 65-7 win.
All season long the big play has been a killer for Coldwater and Friday proved to be no different, as Parma Western scored on plays of 56, 41, 54, 60 and 71 yards, among others.
The scoring started for Parma with the 56-yard touchdown pass from Reed Myers to Caleb Rudd-Jones, followed by a 41-yard touchdown run by Alex Trudell, with both plays coming on the very first play of the new drives.
With the Panthers leading 14-0 the Cardinals offense started to click, eventually finding the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Zach Coffing to Evan Porter, a score set up by a 33-yard interception return by Dayton Ennis down to the Western one-yard line. With the touchdown and the successful extra point, it was now 14-7 after one quarter of play.
That’s when Parma Western exploded on offense, starting with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Myers to Ben Parrott, followed by a 1-yard run by Myers that was fumbled into the endzone and recovered by teammate Landon Heavy, and a 54-yard touchdown pass from Myers to Parrott, finding the halftime score of 35-7.
The third quarter started out quickly for Parma Western, as Trudell scored on a 60-yard touchdown run, followed by an 8-yard run by back Owwen St. Andre and a 71-yard touchdown run by Jayden Willis, sending the game to the fourth quarter with the Panthers leading 55-7.
Parma put the game away with a 6-yard touchdown run by Hunter Fullerton and on a 25-yard field goal by Noah Berdiner in the fourth quarter, finding what would be the final score of 65-7.
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Zach Coffing led the passing attack for Coldwater, finishing 3 for 14 for 31 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Leading the way on the ground for Coldwater was senior Jack Ruden, who had 10 carries for 46 yards while Dayton Ennis led the receiving corps with 1 catch for 23 yards. Evan Porter had one catch for four yards and a score.
Reed Myers led Parma Western in passing, finishing 10 for 12 for 195 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Alex Trudell had a big game running the football, finishing with 132 yards on just nine carries with two touchdowns.
Ben Parrott also had a big night for Parma Western, hauling in six catches for 114 yards and two scores while Caleb Rudd-Jones added two catches for 64 yards and a score.
With the win, Parma Western improves to 8-1 overall and now awaits their MHSAA (Michigan High School Athletic Association) postseason fate, which will be revealed Sunday night during the MHSAA Sunday Selection Show. Coldwater meanwhile sees their tough season come to an end with a record of 0-9 overall on the year.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater sees Parma Western score 51 unanswered to pull away for win
