Season
Highlights:The 1993 Panthers took the field in their first game against
Middletown, led by Tri-Captains Matt Bauer (offensive lineman), Jeff
Bechtel (running back) and Kit Hoffman (linebacker). Eager to
continue their three-game winning streak that closed the end of the
previous season, the Panthers easily defeated the Middies, 39-7. T.
J. Hilvert returned as quarterback, and passed for 123 yards and 3
TDs, two to Ross Hambleton and one to Jeff Bechtel. Bechtel continued
his rushing rampage, picking up 137 yards and two TDs. Hilvert added
another TD and Bob Schlachter kicked 3 PATs. Ryan Stallmeyer also
picked up where he left off with an interception of a Middie
pass.
For Game 2, the Panthers
hosted the Rebels of Boone County for the first time since 1989. The
Panthers hit paydirt late in the first quarter, with an 88-yard TD
pass from Hilvert to B. J. Sandhas. Following the Schlachter extra
point, Elder led 7-0. The teams exchanged TDs in the second quarter,
but a missed extra point gave Boone County the lead at half-time,
14-13. Boone County scored again in the third quarter, but two
Panther TDs in the fourth quarter, on TD passes from Hilvert to
Hambleton gave Elder the victory, 27-21. T. J. Hilvert passed for 318
yards, completing 19 of 28. Hambleton set the school record for pass
receptions in a game with 13, gaining 174 yards.
The annual battle of the
West Side took place at Elder Stadium, as Western Hills visited
Elder. The Panthers outmuscled the Mustangs, gaining 349 total yards
and holding the Mustangs to 58. Jeff Bechtel led the ground game with
81 yards, and tight end Ryan Stallmeyer led the receivers with 3
catches for 56 yards. Bechtel and Dan Delfendahl had TD receptions,
while Bechtel and Sandhas scored on the ground. Schlachter's 3 PATs
made the final score, 29-3 Elder over West High.
The Panthers visited
Withrow the following week, and picked up win number 4, 31-0. Hilvert
passed for 211 yards, and junior Bill Reder passed for 66 more to
lead the aerial attack. But it was the ground assault and the defense
that provided the scoring, on rushing TDs from Bechtel and Reder, a
blocked punt recovered in the end zone by Andrew Schroer, and a
30-yard interception return by Rob Morgan. The defense also had two
fumble recoveries, by Mike Lind and Doug Hess, helping to limit
Withrow to only 64 total yards.
The Lancers hosted the
Panthers for their first GCL contest of the season. Even though La
Salle's record was only 1-3, they battled the Panthers down to the
wire. Bechtel, on a 1-yard run, and Hambleton, on a 13-yard pass from
Hilvert, scored TDs in the first and third quarters to give the
Panthers a 14-10 lead entering the final quarter. Bechtel scored
again, and Schlachter's third kick of the evening made the score
21-10. La Salle fought back, however, and scored with four minutes
left in the game, making the score, 21-18. The Lancers got the ball
back with 2:30 left, but the Panther defense held. Ryan Stallmeyer
recovered a Lancer fumble and Shane Adler intercepted a pass to spark
the defense.
The Ben Davis Giants
invaded the Pit for Game 6. A Bob Schlachter 23-yard field goal, and
a Ross Hambleton TD reception of a T. J. Hilvert pass gave the
Panthers a 10-10 tie entering the fourth quarter. Ben Davis kicked a
field goal with about two minutes left to take the lead, 13-10. On a
fourth-down-and-20 play, Hilvert hit Hambleton in the end zone with a
30-yard TD pass, and the score was 16-13 following the missed extra
point, with 35 seconds left in the game. The Giants proceeded to
march down the field, and kicked a 32-yard field goal to send the
game into overtime. The Panthers had the first possession in OT, and
B. J. Sandhas took a 20-yard Hilvert pass in the end zone to take the
lead. Schlachter's kick was good, and the score was 23-16. On Ben
Davis' series, sacks by Doug Hess and Zak Kampel clinched the victory
for the Panthers.
The Panthers
then brought their 6-0
record to face St. Xavier, and were promptly given a rude awakening.
Hilvert completed 16 of 37 passes for 258 yards, but the ground game
was held to -5 yards, as the Bombers won, 20-14. Hambleton's 144
yards receiving and 2 TDs could not overcome the Bombers' defense and
two fourth-quarter interceptions which stopped the Panthers' drives.
Doug Nicholas and Zak Kampel recovered Bomber fumbles, and Shane
Adler added another interception in the loss.
The Panthers defeated the
Alter Knights the next week, 25-12. (Starting this season, each
GCL-South team played one game with a GCL-North team which counted in
the division standings.) Ross Hambleton's 2 TDs on passes from T. J.
Hilvert, and Casey Albertz' 8-yard scoring run, added to Zak Kampel's
score on a 10-yard return of a blocked punt, and Schlachter's PAT
accounted for the Panther's points.
The Panthers were
embarrassed by the Moeller Crusaders in The Pit, 49-13, in Game 9.
Moeller brought their undefeated record into Elder territory and left
with it intact, gaining 486 yards to Elder's 235. B. J. Sandhas
scored a TD in the second quarter for the Panthers, but at half-time
the game was out of reach as Moeller led 28-7. Moeller added three
more TDs in the second half. Elder's final TD was on a 68-yard Casey
Albertz run, late in the game.
Elder traveled to Oak Hills
to wind up the season, and shutout the Highlanders, 30-0. Hilvert
tossed two more TD passes, to Bechtel and Hambleton, and Bechtel
scored two more rushing. Bob Schlachter's 2 PATs, Sandhas'
conversion, and Ryan Quatman's safety, scored when he tackled the Oak
Hills quarterback in the end zone, completed the Panthers' scoring,
and brought their final record for the season to 8-2.
Ross Hambleton and Jeff
Bechtel shared the scoring honors for the season. Each had 12 TDs and
1 conversion for 74 points. Bechtel led the ground game, with 143
carries for 682 yards, while Hambleton led the receivers, with 61
receptions for 880 yards. T. J. Hilvert passed for 1929 yards and 19
TDs on the season, completing 129 passes out of 261 attempts. Kit
Hoffman anchored the defense with 116 tackles and 3 sacks. Rob Morgan
had 65 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery and 1 interception. Ryan
Stallmeyer had 57 tackles with 5 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries. Zak
Kampel led the team with 6 sacks.
The Harbin rankings put
Moeller, St. Xavier, Princeton, and Centerville into the playoffs
from Region 4. Moeller defeated Centerville, 31-14, and Princeton,
18-15, to win the Regional title. The Crusaders beat Hilliard, 27-7,
in the state semi-final game, but were defeated, 38-20, by Cleveland
St. Ignatius in the state championship game.
HONORS
SWOFCA
ALL-DISTRICT ALL-STAR TEAM
Second
Team Offense
T.
J. Hilvert, Ross Hambleton
Second
Team Defense
Kit
Hoffman
Honorable
Mention
Matt
Bauer
CINCINNATI
ENQUIRER ALL-CITY ALL-STAR TEAM
First
Team Offense
T.
J. Hilvert, Ross Hambleton
First
Team Defense
Kit
Hoffman
Honorable
Mention
Matt
Bauer, Jeff Bechtel, Rob Morgan, Zak Kampel, Bob Schlachter
CINCINNATI
POST ALL-METRO ALL-STAR TEAM
First
Team Offense
Ross
Hambleton, T. J. Hilvert
First
Team Defense
Kit
Hoffman
Honorable
Mention
Matt
Bauer, Jeff Bechtel
G.C.L.
SOUTH ALL-STAR TEAM
First
Team Offense
Matt
Bauer, Jeff Bechtel, Ross Hambleton, T. J. Hilvert
Second
Team Offense
Ryan
Stallmeyer
First
Team Defense
Rob
Morgan, Kit Hoffman, Zak Kampel
Second
Team Defense
Kevin
Buelterman
Honorable
Mention
Mike
Owens, Joe Schutte, Paul Schrimpf, Trey Radel, Jeff Reupert, Steve
Berkowitz, Andrew Schroer, Mark Moehring, Jay Gutzwiller
