Panthers pounding the rock

Posted Oct 8, 2009 by Katherine Smith

Updated Oct 8, 2009 at 11:29 AM

Plant opponents have grown accustom to an air attack. But this season, the Panthers have hit the ground running.

In their three victories this season, the Panthers have rushed for more than 200 yards, including a 210-yard effort in last week’s victory against Armwood. Those are the kind of numbers Plant usually produces in the passing game.

A lot of credit for the rushing success goes to the starting offensive line - left tackle Mark Brannan, left guard Jon Vega, center Drew Russo, right guard Andre Mondor, right tackle Tony Posada – a physical unit that presents a lot of options for the Panthers offensive scheme.

“With the guys we have, we knew we were going to change things up a bit,” assistant offensive line coach Brian McNulty said. “We’ve got a power running game now that we’ve never had before. The running game opens up the passing game for us and vice versa. We can play off of each other.”

T.J. Glover (294 yards) and James Wilder, Jr. (217 yards) have been the biggest benefactors of the line’s physical play.

“We have a huge offensive line,” Wilder said. “They’ll break their backs to make a block for us to keep our offense running. They’re a big influence on our offense. They keep us going the whole game.”