Paetow wanted to start district out by making a statement.

The Panthers knew how important it would be to come out firing in the first game of their District 19-6A schedule, how important it was to their playoff hopes to beat a team like Tompkins that will be battling for a playoff spot and how important it was to put a complete game together in the process.

But even with all of that, the Panther’s couldn’t have expected the performance they got from Terrence Johnson on Thursday night, as the senior running back had the best game of his varsity career, rushing for 315 yards and three touchdowns as Paetow (2-1, 1-0) led wire to wire in a 34-21 win over Tompkins (1-3, 0-2).

“I can’t even put into words what this means,” Johnson said. “It’s honestly amazing to go over 300 in a game, but it’s been a long time coming for all of us not just me. The work we’ve put in all summer, the way we have never stopped believing. We made this happen for ourselves and we worked for this. I’m just happy for all of my guys in the locker room.”

Johnson set the tone from the very first play from scrimmage 75 yards on a handoff for a touchdown and he wasn’t nearly done. The Paetow defense kept Tompkins at bay all first quarter and early in the second on the first play of another drive Johnson did it again, going 79 yards on a handoff for his second touchdown of the day to put the Panthers up two scores.

“Terrence is just like a shot out of a cannon,” said Paetow head coach David Hicks Sr. “You just don’t now when he’s actually going to go down and he’s so hard to bring down even if you get a hand on him. He’s a true home run hitter. He turns small plays into big ones and he had a heck of a game tonight.”

Tompkins tried to get back into it and scored on a 45-yard run from Ethan Meadows midway through the second quarter. The Falcons then looked to be driving again in their final drive of the half before an inadvertent whistle from a referee got a big play called back and weren’t able to find their way into scoring position after that as the Panthers went into the locker room leading 14-7.

The Paetow defense dominated in the first half and it was the offense that closed the game out in the second half. The Panthers went right down the field and scored on a Curtis Zeno 19-yard run. Meadows came back and made it a one score game again late in the third when he capped off a Tompkins drive with a 1-yard run, but the Paetow offense again had the response, with Zeno scoring on a 10-yard run after a long drive. Justin Thierheimer trimmed it to six points with 6:33 remaining in the game with an 8-yard touchdown run but Paetow had the final answer on a long drive that Johnson finished off with a 12-yard touchdown run.

“We had a bye week first week of district and we just went in and we completely focused on these guys for two weeks,” said senior defensive lineman Carmello Brooks. “Our whole goal was to come out and make a statement from the start of district and that’s what we were able to do tonight. It was a huge first step, but we have to keep building and keep pushing to be better.”

Johnson had nearly all of Paetow’s offensive stats from the game. The senior accounted for 319 of the Panthers 361 yards and put the team in position to succeed on the offensive side of things with two runs of over 50 yards and four runs of over 30 yards, but he was also put in a great position by his offensive line. The “Trench Mob” as the lineman call themselves, were fired up for their running back and the accomplishment they helped achieve after the game.

“Those guys up front were tremendous, it’s exactly what you want to see from them,” Hicks said. “I think we learned over the course of this first month that you have to be physical and those guys embody that. They’re going to keep progressing because they go up against in my opinion the best defensive line in the state every day. They have no choice but to get better because that’s who they go against. On both sides our lines played fast and physical and they were so huge for us tonight.”

The Panthers will go up against another strong defense and physical team next week when they take on Mayde Creek (3-1, 1-1). Paetow is confident thought, they’re out to continue to make a name for themselves as they try to climb the district standings.

“Our whole goal for this year was to establish what Paetow is in this district and prove we can compete,” Johnson said. “This was just the first step. We’re a family, we are a great program, we strive to be our best. People like to talk about Paetow and say things, but that’s not us. Coach Hicks and these coaches have done such a great job of building this culture and we want to take that next step.”

Paetow 34, Tompkins 21

First quarter

P: Terrence Johnson 75 run (Omar Yaghi kick) 11:44

Second quarter

P: Johnson 79 run (Yaghi kick) 9:29

T: Ethan Meadows 45 run (Camilo Ronderous kick) 6:46

Third quarter

P: Curtis Zeno 19 run, 5:58

T: Meadows 1 run (Ronderous kick) 2:36

Fourth quarter

P: Zeno 10 run (Yaghi kick) 10:17

T: Justin Thierheimer 8 run (Ronderous kick) 6:33

P: Johnson 12 run (Yaghi kick) 3:23

Team stats

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Paetow: Terrence Johnson, 20-315-3; Curtis Zeno, 3-30-2; Jackson Farrar, 3-16; Tompkins: Ethan Meadows, 26-109-2; Justin Thierheimer, 10-56-1; Robert Bernard, 6-16; Carter Young, 1-(-4)

Passing – Paetow: Jackson Farrar, 6-12-12-0-0; Tompkins: Justin Thierheimer, 13-22-112-0-0

Receiving – Paetow: Joshua Scott, 4-11; Terrence Johnson, 1-4; Daqualyn Lott, 1-(-3); Tompkins: Bisi Bello, 3-23; KJ Madison, 5-32; Carter Young, 3-19; Cade Bauer, 1-9; Etoro Bassey;