CD East led wire-to-wire against previously unbeaten Cedar Cliff, and really the final score, 20-7, was closer than it should have been. The Panthers dominated with strong ball control with their backup quarterback, Terrence Jackson-Copney, making his first start after coming in last week to replace injured starter Tony Powell and guiding the Panthers to a come-from-behind victory.

The overall team speed of CD East was a problem the Colts could not solve. On many fronts you could make a fair argument Cedar Cliff didn’t play a bad game. They just could not get going offensively and that for a very good reason — the Panthers’ lockdown defense.

CD East didn’t have any turnovers, a trend that’s been working for them in all three games. This one, though, penalties were a problem. Racking up 131 yards on 12 accepted penalties will lose you big games. That has to be cleaned up.

Time to hand out some grades.

CEDAR CLIFF COLTS

Quarterback: This was a tough night for Ethan Dorrell. He had his way the first two games of the season, throwing for 500 yards and completing 77% of his passes. He looked good early, but after that he was harassed almost every time he dropped back. He completed only 8-of-19 passes for 66 yards. He struggled, but it was for a reason. Grade: C

Running Back: Senior Jontae Morris is the feature back, and despite missing last season with a torn ACL, it’s clear he is a much better back now. He ripped off a 52-yard touchdown run, but his other 15 carries netted only 34 yards. He ran hard, but against CD East you have to hit the hole with more authority because of their speed. Grade: B

Wide Receivers: No. 1 target Trenten Smith made two nice pitch-and-catch receptions early on the first drive of the game but didn’t register another catch until the game was sealed. He was erased after a good start. The Colts have a stable of receivers, and the eight completions went to five different guys. There was just no time for their QB to get them the rock. Grade: C+

Offensive Line: It’s been pretty smooth sailing for this group until they ran into the aggressive speed and physical nature of a defensive front like the Panthers. I didn’t think they had a bad night overall, but it was clear the CD East defensive line was having its way in terms of getting pressure on the quarterback. . Grade: C-

Defensive Line: When the opponent averages 6.3 yards per carry, you had a tough night. There were some big holes on the edges that allowed the speedy Panthers to get the edge. I did see decent pressure from the pass rush, though. And they did hang in there. KC Robinson had a good game overall.  Grade: B-

Linebackers: The two guys in the middle, Ricardo Harmon III and Kellen Gombola each had good games. They made a ton of tackles and filled some gaps that at times looked wide open. The guys on the outside struggled to hold the edge and tackle in space. Mixed bag, but the inside duo was fantastic. Grade: B

Secondary: Too many missed tackles in the open field in run support,  and they were fortunate that penalties on CD East saw three touchdowns through the air called back. The stats looked good in the end, only 98 yards allowed. But that’s not a true indication of what went on. Grade: C-

Special Teams: Having that first drive of the game end with a blocked field goal was a tough pill to swallow. Pressure up the middle doomed the kick. Not much allowed in the return game, but both teams went with short kickoffs so getting anything in the return game was impossible. Less than 30 yards a punt isn’t a good number, either. Grade: C-

CD EAST PANTHERS

Quarterback: There’s a running element that Terrence Jackson-Copney brings to the table that is an added dimension for CD East. He has six quarters under his belt guiding this offense after taking over for starter Tony Powell, and he’s looked comfortable and confident. Rushed for 134 yards and added 98 through the air. And don’t forget he had three TD passes covering 124 yards called back for penalties. He’s a legitimate dual-threat. Grade: B+

Running Back: Marcel McDaniels runs hard, and it makes sense why he breaks tackles the way he does. He also wrestles. That explains some of what you see on the football field. Showed durability by carrying 25 times for 120 yards. It was nice to see him get in the end zone.  Grade: A

Wide Receivers: Everyone knows Mehki Flowers is a Penn State recruit, and he finished with six catches for 57 yards. He did have a drop, which you could tell it irritated him A LOT. He also was robbed of a touchdown where he caught the ball in the corner and DID get his foot down, but the officials ruled he was out. And he had another touchdown taken away for a terrible OPI call. He has a right to come back for the ball and go for the catch, too. Tymere Thornton is the other target, and he had two touchdown catches called back. The numbers say it was an average night, but some of those catches that didn’t count were just sick. Grade: B+

Offensive Line: Really good night run blocking. They were physical and opened some holes that you could drive a truck through. They were physical at the point of attack and finished blocks. However … a holding foul and ineligible receiver downfield penalty cost the Panthers 14 points. At some point that will matter. Overall, they dominated in the run game and that was the game plan. Grade: B+

Defensive Line: Nader Shawakha and Cameron Livingston were a handful all night, and they were strong at the point of attack in the run game and caused all kinds of mayhem in terms of a pass rush. They owned this game. Grade: A

Linebackers: What makes the Panthers tick defensively is this group. They bring pressure from the inside and off the edge in tandem. Thaddeus Krebs handles the duties up the middle, and Jekari Rivera-Mauldin is wicked quick off the edge. I thought Rivera-Mauldin had a monster game. Nothing went outside, and he created mayhem coming off the edge. Grade: A

Secondary: No big plays and that was key after surrendering a handful the first couple games. They really didn’t need to do much in terms of run support. The DL and LBs were taking care of that. Nobody home on the 52-yard run on the back side was a mistake but no big deal. The DPI when you grab the jersey of the receiver when the QB’s arm was hit and the ball was a well-short wounded duck is undisciplined and sloppy. Grade: A-

Special Teams: Pretty darn good night, overall. Pair of field goals covering 28 and 30 yards from Nickolas Bloss. His first extra point was shaky, though. Kickoffs were all shorties designed to give up field position but avoid the big play. Flowers had only one chance in the return game, and he managed to scratch out 17 yards. No damage and a solid night from the kicker. Grade: B+

CD East used a grind-it-out offense combined with a fast and stingy defense to subdue previously unbeaten Cedar Cliff 20-7 Friday night at The Speedway. It was the Panthers second straight victory.

KEYS TO VICTORY

The 1-2 combination of RB Marcel McDaniels and QB Terrence Jackson-Copney allowed the Panthers to grind on the clock and control the pace and tempo of this game. The duo combined for 37 carries for 254 yards and each scored a touchdown.

CD East led 13-7 at intermission and Cedar Cliff was driving on its opening possession of the second half, moving the ball from its own 28 to the Panthers 35-yard line before disaster struck. A bad snap over the head of quarterback Ethan Dorrell was eventually recovered by the Panthers’ Cameron Livingston at the Colts’ 49. CD East methodically moved the ball downfield, using 12 plays and nearly half of the third-quarter clock, before McDaniel scampered over from 10 yards out on fourth-and-1 to give the Panthers a two-score lead.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Cedar Cliff came into this contest averaging 250 yards a game through the air. The Colts managed only 66 passing yards against CD East. … The Panthers had three touchdowns called back, all on long-distance pass plays covering 33, 64 and 27 yards. That’s 124 passing yards and three scores off the books. … Penalties were an issue for CD East, as the Panthers finished with 12 of them for a whopping 131 yards. … Jackson-Copney led all rushers with 134 yards on 12 carries including a 51-yard touchdown dart in the first quarter that made it 7-0. He also threw for 98 yards to give him 232 total yards. … Colts RB Jontae Morris had 86 yards on 16 carries with a 52-yard touchdown run for their only points.

WHAT WE SAW

The team speed of CD East overwhelmed Cedar Cliff across the board. Dorrell was under intense pressure the final three quarters and the result was his first interception of the season. The Panthers did a good job mixing up their coverages, and that along with East’s aggressiveness and speed on defense limited the Colts to only 156 yards of total offense on 45 snaps.

If they have to, the Panthers have the ingredients to take shots downfield and be a quick-strike offense. At their core, they want to be physical and run the ball. That was on display in full bloom in this one. In the second and third quarters CD East had three scoring drives (two field goals and a touchdown) that consumed 4:32, 7:18 and 5:52 of clock. That’s nearly 18 minutes of time chewed up to score only 13 points. Running the ball and being physical was the game plan, and the Panthers stuck to it.

THEY SAID IT

“Our kids battled. We were mistake-riddled offensively, and we had not done that our first two games. Our defense held in there. East was very methodical in the way they moved the ball. They are so fast, though — they are just so quick. Plays that were getting us 20 and 30 yards the first two weeks were only getting us 5-6 yards this week.” — Cedar Cliff head coach Colin Gillen

“We’re trying to make our identity into being physical and disciplined. We’ve got an experienced line, and we take pride in being able to run the ball right now. We take pride in our defense and just tried to be physical. We came off the ball well defensively, and that helped a lot tonight.” — CD East coach Lance Deane

PANTHERS 20, COLTS 7

Cedar Cliff            0 7 0 0 – 7

CD East       7 6 7 0 – 20

First Quarter

CDE-Terrence Jackson-Copney 51 run (Nickolas Bloss kick), 4:55

Second Quarter

CDE-FG Bloss 28, 10:31

CC-Jontae Morris 52 run (Derek Witmer kick), 8:36

CDE-FG Bloss 30, 1:07

Third Quarter

CDE-Marcel McDaniels 10 run (Bloss kick), 2:51

Fourth Quarter

None

Team Statistics                     CC       CDE

First downs                         13          16

Rushes-yards                    26-90  41-257

C-A-I                                         8-19-1  10-19-0

Passing yards                    66         98

Fumbles-lost                      1-1        1-0

Punts-avg.                               3-29      3-30

Penalties-yards                       6-45     12-131

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Cedar Cliff, Jontae Morris 16-86; Ethan Dorrell 6-(minus-9); Michael Jones 2-14; Ricardo Harmon 1-15; Team 1-(minus-16). CD East, Marcel McDaniels 25-120; Aidan Chandler 4-3; Terrence Jackson-Copney 12-134.

PASSING: Cedar Cliff, Dorrell 8-18-1-66; Bennett Secrest 0-1-0-0. CD East, Jackson-Copney 10-19-0-98.

RECEIVING: Cedar Cliff, Trenten Smith 3-29; Isaiah Maisonet 1-10; Nathan Lusk 1-1; Michael Armanini 2-19; KC Robinson 1-7. CD East, Tymere Thornton 2-28; Mehki Flowers 6-57; Izayah Hitchcock 2-13.