Monroe City Pushes Past Lincoln to Advance to State Semis

The Monroe City Panthers defeated the Lincoln Cardinals 26-12 this afternoon to advance to the state semifinals. For the second week in a row, Waylon DeGrave wasted no time finding the endzone…

Austin Ward with the call on KTCM and centralmoinfo.com. Monroe City led 20-12 going into the fourth after intercepting Lincoln quarterback Conner Lynde late in the third. The Panthers then put the game away with a five-and-a-half minute drive capped off by Landon Utterback.

Brandon Monty with the call. After stopping Lincoln twice at the one yard line on the Cardinals’ first series, Monroe City executed a 15-play, 99-yard drive that lasted 10 minutes and ended with a Cameron Jones touchdown to take a 14-0 lead after one. The Panthers led 20-6 at the half, but lost both Jones and DeGrave to injuries in the second quarter. Monroe City coach David Kirby was proud of his team’s resiliency.

Lincoln scored on its first drive of the second half then stopped Monroe on fourth down at the Panther 18 yard line. One play later, Monroe grabbed momentum back on a Gabe Creel sack fumble that the Panthers recovered.

Monroe City tallied 270 yards on the ground while holding the Cardinals to 153 total yards. Pennewell accounted for 141 yards on 31 carries. The Panthers advance to the state semifinals for the third time since 2016.

Monroe City stays undefeated at 13-0. Lincoln finishes the season 11-2.

David Kirby Postgame: