Anderson, Panthers Roar Past Trojans
Facing a matchup with potential playoff implications next week, Parish Episcopal made sure its focus on Thursday remained on the present, not the future.
The Panthers blanked Trinity Christian 56-0 at Snyder Stadium in another showcase for its explosive offense, led by senior quarterback Sawyer Anderson.
Parish, which has won five consecutive TAPPS 6A state titles, will carry momentum into its road showdown on Oct. 18 against Argyle Liberty, which has hopes to end that streak at the end of the season.
“We came out and did what we needed to do,” said Parish head coach Daniel Novakov. “We wanted to win and not take anything for granted. Hopefully we came out healthy.”
Anderson threw for 246 yards and four touchdowns before exiting at halftime with the Panthers (5-2, 3-0) already leading 43-0.
Jaylen Pile had 102 receiving yards and two scores, while Beckham Smith and Carson Darby also caught touchdown passes as Parish reached the end zone on its final seven possessions of the game.
Anderson is closing in on 12,000 career passing yards and later this season could also eclipse the Parish school record set by current SMU quarterback Preston Stone.
“I can’t say enough about how Sawyer has been playing,” Novakov said. “The receivers are all good players, too, and he’s really spreading the ball around. There’s not a lot of selfishness. They all take care of each other and root for each other.”
D.C. Crane blocked two punts in the first half for the Panthers, the second of which was recovered by teammate Hurley Wiker for a score.
Meanwhile, the Trojans (2-5, 0-3) managed just 55 yards of total offense — for an average of 1.5 yards per play — and dropped their fourth straight game. Hunter Flatt’s seven completions went for just 23 yards.
After the margin became lopsided, Parish turned to its ground game, getting touchdowns from Marcus Hanish, Jackson Sanford, and Jackson McKinney.
The Panthers extended their TAPPS district winning streak to 18 games and secured their first shutout in more than two years.
TCA, which has surrendered an average of 52 points during its skid, will have a bye week before resuming district play on Oct. 25 at Bishop Lynch.
