MAYVILLE - Zack Wood did it all for Portville (5-3) Friday night as the Panthers topped Chautauqua Lake (4-4), 39-28, in Section 6 Class D football action, at Chautauqua Lake Central School.
Wood carried the ball 14 times for 185 yards and two touchdowns while hauling in touchdown passes of 2 and 33 yards. To top it off, Wood put the game away in the fourth quarter with a 54-yard interception return for his fifth score of the game, putting the Panthers up 32-20 with 9:21 left in the fourth quarter.
Ryan Miller got the Thunderbirds off on the right foot, taking back the opening kickoff 85 yards, helping the home team to an 8-0 lead with only 16 seconds gone off the clock. However, Portville came right back as Brett Marcellin found Wood from 2-yards out to bring the visitors within two, 8-6.
From there, Portville started to build a lead it did not relinquish as Gunnar Vancuren took a Marcellin pass 95-yards to the house and Wood rattled off an 80-yard scoring jaunt to put the Panthers up, 20-8, with 8:00 left in the first half.
After Miller cut the Panthers' lead to 20-14 with his second touchdown of the game, this one a 9-yard run, Wood crossed the goal line for the third time, taking a Marcellin pass 33 yards into the end zone and helping Portville build a 26-14 lead with 53 second remaining in the second quarter.
Wood opened the scoring in the third quarter, ripping off a 70-yard run to paydirt with 10:14 left in the third, helping the Panthers increase their lead to 32-14. Miller added his third score of the night for the Thunderbirds, as he took the ball in from 25-yards out with 9:20 left in the third, cutting the Panthers' lead to 32-20.
Down 39-20 with under four minutes remaining in regulation, Adam Carpenter broke free for Chautauqua Lake, taking the ball 72 yards to the end zone for the game's final score, leaving the final tally at 39-28 with 3:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Miller finished the night with 224 yards on 31 carries while Chandler Baker had 12 tackles to lead the Thunderbirds' defense. Anthony Pezzulo chipped in 10 tackles in the loss.
