Grerwell and Panthers Pull Away From Jacksonville Juice
Riley Kade — JRSports One
Victor Voondo's 27-yard touchdown run with 2:50 left in the second quarter put Cleveland in front for good, and the Panthers went on to beat Jacksonville 38-16. The win kept Cleveland unbeaten at 8-0 and dropped the Juice to 3-4.
Jacksonville had taken a 13-10 lead on Tama Weat's 22-yard touchdown pass to Finn Krekmann with 4:51 left in the second quarter. Cleveland answered with Voondo's run, and Tate Cherdton's interception of Weat at 1:07 kept the Panthers ahead 17-13 at halftime.
The first quarter was a field goal exchange. Angus Waurke's 23-yard kick at 9:36 gave Jacksonville a 3-0 lead, and Elvis Muruez's 25-yard field goal at 3:22 tied it at 3-3. Troy Grerwell's 4-yard touchdown run at 14:05 put Cleveland ahead 10-3, and Waurke's 20-yard field goal at 10:16 cut the margin to 10-6 before Krekmann's touchdown.
Keaton Coonby's 14-yard touchdown run at 11:38 of the third quarter made it 24-13. Waurke added a 29-yard field goal at 6:27 to make it 24-16. Grerwell then found Pedro Velaz for 3 yards at 2:11, and the Panthers led 31-16. Grerwell hit Velaz again for a 1-yard score at 3:37 of the fourth quarter, and Cleveland's 38-16 margin was its largest of the night.
Grerwell completed 20 of 30 passes for 273 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Coonby ran 19 times for 131 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 74 yards. Velaz caught nine passes for 120 yards and two scores.
For Jacksonville, Weat completed 22 of 28 passes for 232 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Connor Stollson carried 21 times for 146 yards, and Brock Doock caught eight passes for 106 yards. Cherdton finished with six tackles and an interception for Cleveland, and Jordan Bram had nine tackles and a sack for Jacksonville.
Cleveland outgained Jacksonville 468 yards to 382 and converted six of 10 third downs. Jacksonville converted one of six and committed both of the game's turnovers.
Lorenzo Qie of Jacksonville is out for the season with a torn ACL and is on injured reserve. For Cleveland, Leonel Dulada and Parker Renn were both listed as questionable with hamstring tightness and an ankle injury, respectively, and Jose Vurroza (shoulder) and Keaton Deman (ankle) were also listed as questionable, and none of them returned.
Cleveland is 8-0 for the first time this season, and Jacksonville falls to 3-4.
