Pana hosts A-J in second round of 3A playoffs

Pana High School football coach Al Stupek knows something about the River-to-River Conference Mississippi Division teams.

"Du Quoin beat us 40-7 last year in the first round," Stupek said. ""It gave us an opportunity to see the level of play and competition in that conference."

Pana, 7-3, a South Central Conference member, will host River-to-River Conference member Anna-Jonesboro, 7-3, in a 2 p.m. second-round game Saturday.

The game will be aired on WIBH radio in Anna. The game also can be heard online by visiting <a href="http://www.annanews.com">www.annanews.com</a>.

Pana advances after a 12-8 win over Pittsfield. It's the second time the Panthers have advanced to a second-round game since 1993.

"It's been a good year for us," Stupek said. "We have 14 seniors and they are responding well to our program."

Pana is led at quarterback by senior Cody McLaughlin, 5-10, 170 pounds, who was the backup signal caller last season.

"He does a little bit of everything for us," Stupek said. "He's a smart kid and a good ball player."

The top receivers are Phillip Arnold, a 6-1, 180-pound junior; Drew Bland, a 6-1, 196-pound senior; and Nick Spacklen, a 6-4, 215-pound junior.

The Panthers fullback is Jake Cutler, 6-1, 191-pound senior. Running back are Brett Amling, 6-0, 170-pound junior, who led the rushing attack against Pittsfield.

Other running backs are Arnold  and Jesse Wicks, 6-0, 145-pound senior.

"We spread our running out quite a bit among different people," Stupek said.

The line is anchored around  6-5, 325-pound senior Alan Handy, Chad Miller, 5-11, 190-pound senior, Zack Etter, 6-2, 250-pound junior, Matt Eddy, 6-3, 262-pound senior and Jared McMillen, 6-2, 173-pound sophomore.

Senior John Moore, 5-9, 165-pounder is the middle linebacker and linebackers are Wicks, Arnold and Cutler. Handy is the nose tackle.

"Our defense has played stellar all year," Stupek said. "Our defense is second in our conference."

Stupek is the vice president of a Pana Bank. Two teachers, another bank employee, the city clerk and a street department worker comprise the rest of the coaching staff.

"It's a community effort with our coaching," Stupek said.

Stupek has watched A-J on tape and feels he knows a little about the squad.

"Anna played a heck of a game against Carterville," Stupek said. "They were pretty impressive.

"They run a lot of options so we'll have to be able to tackle and stop No. 21 (Jordan Chamness) and No. 22 (Gabe Pecord)."

"Obviously, any time you get on a bus and travel it's something you've got to get out of your mind," A-J coach Brett Detering said. "But hopefully, we're not done yet."