DIXON’S MILLS — The homestanding Marengo High School Panthers had trouble getting out of their own way in the first quarter of their game against first-year team Saint Luke’s, getting flagged for 10 penalties for 101 yards in the first half.

Things got rolling for the Panthers in the second quarter and the Wildcats were unable to respond as Marengo shut out Saint Luke’s 59-0 in Class 1A Region 1 play on Friday.

The Panthers (2-2 overall, 2-1 in 1A Region 1) scored their first touchdown of the game when senior Marcus Richardson punched the ball in from the Saint Luke’s 3-yard line with 5:03 left in the first quarter. The extra-point kick by Richardson gave MHS a 7-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Richardson had an apparent 33-yard scoring run called back by a Panther penalty, but junior Derrious Rodgers was able to score from 20 yards out with 8:48 left in the first half to push the Panther lead to 14-0.

On the ensuing drive, Saint Luke’s (0-4 overall, 0-3 in 1A Region 1 play) lost the ball on a bad snap, and junior Eddie Kimbrough scored on the first play from scrimmage on a 24-yard run with 7:42 left in the half to give MHS a 20-0 lead.

On Marengo’s next drive, senior Jakoby Aldridge took the first play 76 yards for a score, giving the Panthers a 26-0 lead with 3:19 left in the half.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats muffed the kick and lost it to the Panthers, who scored on their first play from scrimmage on a 33-yard run by Aldridge to go ahead 32-0 with 3:06 remaining in the half.

With time running out in the first half, sophomore Jarvis Lewis made a 64-yard run for a TD with 11.2 seconds left. The two-point conversion gave the Panthers a 40-0 lead at halftime.

Marengo had the first possession of the second half, and Antheryius Aldridge made another scoring run, this one a 26-yarder with 9:57 left in the third quarter, giving MHS a 47-0 lead.

Freshman quarterback Michael Lewis later found Rodgers on a broken play which became a 40-yard touchdown pass, giving Marengo a 53-0 lead with 3:06 left in the quarter.

The last score came when Richardson ran 28 yards to the goal line, but fumbled the ball there. Junior Patrick Bouler recovered the ball in the end zone for the final score of the game with 1:17 left in the third quarter.

“My biggest thing was I wanted to see our team finish in the third and fourth quarter,” said MHS head coach James Rutherford. “If I had to run up the scoreboard a little bit, I’m sorry about that. These kids are young, and we’ve got to learn how to finish. We didn’t finish against Wilcox, we didn’t finish against McIntosh, and by George, we’re going to finish the third and fourth quarter.

“I think we did pretty good at that, but we’ve got to work hard at it.”

Marengo hosts 3A Clarke County (1-3) on Friday, while Saint Luke’s hosts regional rival Coffeeville (0-4, 0-3 1A Region 1).