by Scott Shasteen on Friday, October 19, 2007
  The Maplewood Panthers rushed for 362 yards and moved into a tie for second place in Region 5-4A with a 23-0 win over the Tullahoma Wildcats in Nashville Friday night.
   Maplewood (3-1, 6-2) can gain sole possession of second next week when the Panthers travel to Shelbyville to battle the Golden Eagles. Shelbyville is also 3-1 in the region following their 37-25 win over Stratford.
   Tullahoma (3-1, 5-3) will host Hillsboro (4-0, 6-1) next week at Wilkins Stadium. The Burros overcame a basket full of mistakes to ease past Whites Creek 28-20 on Friday. The Wildcats own the tiebreaker with Shelbyville and can finish third in the region with a win Friday or a win in the regular season finale at Lawrence Co.
   Maplewood jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, only to see the Wildcats march down to the two yard line. However, an interception in the end zone turned around what could have been a three-point game. On the second play from scrimmage following the interception, Maplewood fullback DeShawn Thorpe raced 88 yards to give the home team a 16-0 lead it would never relinquish.
   The game featured a series of long drives by both teams. The most impressive drive was the one the Panthers put together in the fourth quarter that used 10:49 off the clock, eliminating any chance the Cats had of staging a comeback.
   The Wildcats had a long third-quarter drive that consumed over seven minutes off the clock, but failed to get points out of the effort as quarterback Chris Bishop was picked off by Andre Campbell. It was one of only five possessions for the Cats the entire contest.
   Maplewood’s Markus Cantrell, who gained 144 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns, finished off the Panthers first drive with a three-yard score. The extra point attempt was good and Maplewood led 7-0 with 7:46 left in the first quarter.
   Tullahoma’s second possession of the game saw the Cats move to the Panthers’ 27, but Craig Roper missed a 44-yard field goal attempt that kept the lead at seven.
   Maplewood’s second drive of the game covered the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter, seven minutes in all, and ended with Dominique Howard kicking a 32-yard field goal, his first of the season. With 10:25 left in the half the Wildcats trailed 10-0.
   Tullahoma’s only possession of the second quarter was impressive, moving to the Panthers’ two. That’s where Bishop, attempting a jump-pass to tight end Cody Quick, saw Cantrell step in front of it to gain the turnover. Two plays later Thorpe turned around what appeared to be a tight contest and gave the home team breathing room.
   After a long halftime homecoming celebration the Wildcats held the Panthers on the first possession of the second half, but Tullahoma’s ensuing drive ended with Campbell’s pick.
   Overall the Cats managed only 173 yards offense against the big, fast defense of the home team. Bishop was 6-13 for 75 yards through the air and gained 27 yards on the ground in 10 carries.
   Bobby Dowdell had 14 carries for 71 yards, while Derek Lawson had two catches for 32 yards.