Panthers Overcome Adversity In 2023 and Win Cascades Conference Title

Spencer Brown (22) carries the ball for Addison. Brown finished with 3 touchdowns for Addison on Saturday. Photo by Jeff Steers, JTV Sports.

By David Rice | JTV Sports

Saturday, October 21st (4:00PM):

It was a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon at Napoleon High School, but that didn’t stop the visiting Addison Panthers from taking care of business and clinching the Cascades Conference championship.

Napoleon defense made the first move, Kayden Fowler picked up a tackle at the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 10 to force Addison into fourth down. Jaxen Sword kept it himself on a 15-yard quarterback keeper to extend the drive. A penalty on the panthers forced them into a 4th & 6 and an incomplete pass intended for Spencer Brown turned it over to Napoleon.

Mason Roth picked up a 19-yard run to move it to the 31-yard line. A penalty on Napoleon and a turnover on downs forced them to give it back. Another penalty on the defense killed Napoleon’s momentum on the next drive. After a 12-yard run to give Addison a first down, a sack by the pirate defense couldn’t give them a break. The Addison quarterback was thrown to the ground after the sack, giving the Panthers a 15-yard penalty with a first down.

Gunnar Demeuse caught a 15-yard pass from Sword and got Addison to the 8-yard line for a first and goal. That pass set up a one-yard rushing touchdown for senior Spencer Brown to make it 8-0 Addison lead with 7:43 in the second quarter.

Napoleon started to move the ball on offense, Kayden Fowler made a 26-yard reception to give the Pirates a first down. An incomplete pass to Holden VanPoppel on third down set up a 4th & 5. Adeon Craig stepped up and sacked Grant Bradley on fourth down to force another turnover on downs. 

At the half, Addison leads Napoleon 8-0. 

Grant Bradley opened the second half with an 8-yard QB keeper to give the Pirates a first down. A holding penalty set up a 1st & 25 followed by pressure and an incomplete pass on 3rd & 22 to force Napoleon to punt.

Spencer Brown stepped up again for Addison with a 37-yard run down to the 19 yard line, followed by a 12-yard rushing touchdown. Addison now leads 16-0 with 11 minutes to play.

Napoleon’s last chance to spark a comeback was shut down on a three-and-out. Another turnover on downs gave Addison the ball back with 9 minutes left. A first and goal from the 2-yard line set up Brown for his third rushing touchdown of the day, giving Addison a 24-0 lead.

Addison took care of business on Saturday, beating Napoleon 24-0. #5 in Division 8 (Addison) finishes 9-0 and #2 in Division 7, Napoleon, finishes the regular season at 8-1. Spencer Brown finishes with three touchdowns for Addison and over 100 yards of rushing. This gives Addison their 11th conference championship in school history, and 4th of the last 5 years (won 3 straight from 2019-21).

“The reason we run this type of offense is to eat up clock, and put points on the board. Not to score a lot of points and little time but almost the opposite” said Addison head coach Josh Lindeman. “The adversity we faced in our program and school before the season really bonded us. When you understand that the majority of life is tough, you don’t make excuses because you will end up facing a low in your life. This group of kids did a really good job of just going out there and winning”. 

“We can play with really good teams in the division 8 playoffs. It doesn’t matter where they are ranked or how good they were in the past, we can come in and beat them”.

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