Panthers bounce back and run past Perry

Shut down in last week’s loss at Zama, Yokota’s ground game sprang to life Friday, scoring five of the Panthers’ six touchdowns in a 40-6 home romp over Matthew C. Perry.

Mitchell Powell rushed for two scores, Quincy Brown, Lucious Como and Keito Kawamura-Johnson added one rushing TD each and Kawamura-Johnson returned a punt 13 yards for a touchdown for the Panthers. Yokota totaled 177 yards on 21 carries.

That came a week after the Panthers lost 43-7 at Zama and were held to minus-15 yards on 29 rushing attempts.

“We cleaned up the mistakes we made in the Zama game,” said coach Michael Woodworth of the Panthers (2-1), the two-time defending Far East Division II champions.

“We worked on blocking this week. We didn’t block well against Zama, and that’s why we were able to rush for so many yards today. Special teams, we definitely won the battle of field position and we have some dynamic weapons and resilience.”

Yokota's Keito Kawamura-Johnson rushed for a touchdown and returned a punt for a TD. (Michael Gasidlo/Special to Stripes)

Yokota's Kaito Wilson looks for running room between Perry defenders. (Michael Gasidlo/Special to Stripes)

Perry's Khalil Jones races toward right end against Yokota. (Michael Gasidlo/Special to Stripes)

Yokota's Keito Kawamura-Johnson returns a punt for a touchdown. (Greg Holladay/Special to Stripes)

Yokota's Jayden Hooker goes up to snag a pass against Perry. (Greg Holladay/Special to Stripes)

Perry's Jaylen Jiles gets an escort from lineman Aiden Glodowski. (Greg Holladay/Special to Stripes)

Yokota's Quincy Brown tries to dance get around Perry defender Mercer Lujan. (Greg Holladay/Special to Stripes)

Brown finished with 62 yards on 10 carries, Kaito Wilson 57 on four and Kawamura Johnson 51 on four attempts for the Panthers, who remain one game behind Zama in the chase for first place in the D-II standings.

The bright spot for the Samurai was George Rodriguez, who broke the shutout with a 53-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run.

“We have to continue working on excellence in the basics,” Samurai coach A.J. Edwards said. “We are a very young team developing into football players, so we will continue to grind and get better every day.”

Yokota and Perry each play at home next weekend. The Panthers host Robert D. Edgren on Friday and the Samurai take on Osan on Saturday.