The Ellsworth Community College football team came up short on Sept. 27 as they took on number one ranked Iowa Western in a 42-27 loss.
Iowa Western scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and held Ellsworth scoreless until the second quarter when the Panthers' Xavier Washpun scored a 2-yard touchdown on a handoff. ECC went into the second half down 21-7. The Reivers proved to be unstoppable, scoring two more touchdowns at the beginning of the third quarter.
The Panthers went on a scoring run at the end of the 3rd quarter and into the fourth. They scored a touchdown with another handoff to Washpun for three yards, and with touchdown passes from DeMarius Davis to Tad Steffensen and Tyrian Taylor. ECC's scoring run wouldn't prove to be enough to hold off the Iowa Western victory.
The stat leader for the Panthers was Davis, who rushed for 119 yards on 22 carries and completed 23 out of 39 passing attempts for 230 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor had nine receptions for 120 yards.
The Panthers now have a week off. Their next game will be on the road against Fort Scott Community College on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1 pm.