HILLSBORO — The Pana run game was the best it’s been all season, the defense was perfect, and junior Brenden Schoonover may have cemented himself as one of the South Central Conference’s best two-way players. Saturday, April 17, 2021
Pana’s Lane Funneman was painting corners and throwing gas on the mound Wednesday afternoon when the Panthers hosted the Williamsville Bullets in their season debut.
Funneman’s workman-like outing spanned six and a third innings where the senior hurler racked up 10 strikeouts. Funneman also didn’t allow any earned runs as the Bullets only scored on a couple of Pana errors in what would ultimately be a 3-2 victory for the Panthers.
“My fastball was working for me, so was my curveball. About the third inning, I really started to get some movement on my pitches, and my curveball was my main strikeout pitch today,” Funneman said of his gem. Thursday, April 15, 2021
The Pana volleyball team traveled to Pawnee to take on the Indians on Tuesday night. The Panthers defeated the Indians in two sets with scores of 25-13 and 25-3. Wednesday, April 14, 2021
One big mistake. That’s what cost Pana in their game against Hillsboro on Tuesday night.
The Hilltoppers were able to get possession of the ball at midfield and pushed it up the sideline to the right corner. A good cross in was received in the box by the Hilltoppers, but the panthers had three defenders there as well. A scrum for the ball led to some contact in the box and a Hilltopper went down. Wednesday, April 14, 2021
The Pana Panthers were on the road on Monday night as they took on Hillsboro. The Panthers defeated the Hilltoppers in straight sets 25-15 and 25-12. Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Vandalia junior wide receiver and defensive back Carson Ruot was certainly playing with a full deck Friday night, and he would deal out a full house of trouble to the Pana Panthers in a contest where he would find the endzone three times and pull down two interceptions on defense to lead Vandalia to a 24-13 victory. Saturday, April 10, 2021
Pana lost the first five points to Greenville in the second set as the Comets were able to get a side out and capitalize on a couple of Pana offensive mistakes.
The Comets carried their lead out to a 15-11 point, and were able to capitalize on getting a dig off of a block and making a couple of passes for a ball that fell in on Pana’s side. After the Comets led 16-11, Pana head coach Greg Cothern took a timeout to talk to his team. Friday, April 9, 2021
After not playing for nearly a week, the Pana Panthers played in back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday. The long travel to Vandalia didn’t affect the Panthers the next night as they defeated Meridian in straight sets 25-13 and 25-12.
Meridian had the first serve of the game, but Pana was able to get the side out. From there, Alivia Reed had the serve and Pana took the first five points of the opening set to lead 5-0 before the Hawks got their first point. Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Tornado head coach Tim Karbach mentioned at his last conference game that once the Tornadoes get out of their conference they’re really competitive. That competitiveness showed on Monday night as a part of their Senior Night.
Despite falling to the Panthers 3-1 on the night the Tornadoes held Pana scoreless for 38:15. Sam Beck had a shot, but the wind picked up and blew it right to the foot of Nikko Pierce. Pierce was able to drill a shot past a diving Preston Good and scored with 1:45 to go in the first half. Neither team was able to score for the remainder of the half, and the Panthers held a 1-0 lead into the second half. Tuesday, April 6, 2021
It was Williamsville’s Senior Night on Tuesday when Pana was in town. The Panthers left with the three-set victory as they won the first set 25-23, lost the second 18-25, but won the third 25-18. Wednesday, March 31, 2021
“Sometimes it’s nice to have these atmosphere’s,” said Pana head coach Greg Cothern about the quietness inside the gym on Monday. “I think it really allows the girls to focus and talk to each other and if they aren’t talking, then everyone knows it and it gives them something to work on.”
Pana stumbled early in their match against Gillespie, but they battled back and were victorious 25-14 and 25-5. Tuesday, March 30, 2021
After finding themselves down 12-0 to Carlinville with 5:56 left in the third quarter Friday night, Pana was looking for a few of its younger, rising stars to step up with a clutch performance. Quarterback Carter Hocq delivered with a three-touchdown second half that would ultimately see Pana steal a 19-15 win from the rival Cavies.
Perhaps Hocq was just searching for a big confidence boost, something to help him break out of his shell; he got it just seconds after Carlinville scored its second touchdown when the Panthers answered right back on a 66-yard catch-and-run by Ace Armstrong. Saturday, March 27, 2021
A solid effort by the Pana Panthers boys soccer team resulted in a 2-0 shutout of South Central Conference foe Greenville Thursday afternoon on the Pana pitch at Tanner Field. Pana scored one goal in each half, both coming within the first 10 minutes of each half.
“I thought we controlled the game most of the time. We had possession of the ball most of the game,” Head Coach Robert Evaul said. “Our passing was great, our distribution was great, our formations were great, everything was great - except for the weather conditions.” Friday, March 26, 2021
The Pana Panthers faced off against the Litchfield Panthers on the road on Thursday night. Pana continued its new conference winning streak as they defeated the Purple Panthers 25-17 and 25-6. Friday, March 26, 2021
The Pana Panthers traveled to North Mac for a matchup with the Panthers on Tuesday night. North Mac will be joining the SCC next season, so this was an opportunity for a preview for what may come. Pana came away with the victory on the night as they won set one 25-14 and set two 25-22. Wednesday, March 24, 2021
A winning streak is usually only ever talked about when it is over; no one seems to want to talk about it when it is happening as to not jinx it. The Panther volleyball team was on a 28 match winning streak in the SCC before they lost to Staunton last week.
Pana got back on the right side of the SCC win column on Monday as they ran past Carlinville, taking both sets with scores of 25-14 and 25-11. Tuesday, March 23, 2021
The Pana Panthers hosted a tough Springfield High squad on Saturday afternoon. The Senators took both sets off of the Panthers in 25-20 and 25-22 victories. Monday, March 22, 2021
GILLESPIE — “We knew Ambrose was going to be a beast on both sides of the ball. He’s just an athlete,” Pana head coach Trevor Higgins said Friday night of his star, two-way player Andrew Ambrose. Saturday, March 20, 2021
PANA — While there were teams yesterday who decided not to play their soccer games, Pana head coach Robert Evaul had a different mindset about the wind, rain, and cold-blowing wind on Thursday afternoon. Friday, March 19, 2021
PANA — Since he’s taken over the program, Pana head football coach Trevor Higgins and his Panther teams have never won fewer than nine games in a season. This year, however, five wins will be the best that Higgins and company can hope for. Thursday, March 18, 2021
PANA — Third-year Head Coach Bobby Evaul has big numbers for his spring 2021 soccer season and returns quite a few veteran players, including eight seniors. Thursday, March 18, 2021
PANA — Volleyball season is here — Finally! And Head Coach Greg Cothern and his Pana Panthers couldn’t be more ready to get the season underway. Delayed from the fall of 2020, the Panthers will take to the floor for 18 matches. Thursday, March 18, 2021
Pana’s volleyball program has been a perennial powerhouse for the last several years. In almost each and every match, the Panthers are usually running like a well-oiled machine.
In a season that was cobbled together on short notice, with limited time to practice, Pana, however, looked a little vulnerable Tuesday night in their season opener against Piasa Southwestern. Wednesday, March 17, 2021
The Pana Panthers had to travel to Carlinville to compete for the Regional Championship on Monday. Unfortunately, Pana was unable to bring back the title as they fell 25-20 and 25-21. Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Hosting the North Mac Panthers on Saturday morning, the Pana Junior High School 8th grade volleyball team went three sets to defeat the visitors 23-25, 25-8, 25-16, and advance to today’s regional final at Carlinville, playing the host school. Tip-off is at 5:00 p.m.
“We were able to bounce back today and typically, that’s something we didn’t do last year,” Head Coach Greg Cothern said. “We made so many unforced errors in that first game, it made the score look way different than it actually was. In the second game, once we cut down on our unforced errors, we started to play ball the way we needed to play and the score reflected that. Losing that first set then bouncing back to win the next two was quite an accomplishment for them.” Monday, March 15, 2021
Pana’s gameplan all season had been the same: make their opponent work extremely hard in the first quarter and wear them down so the Panthers can take full control of the game in the second quarter and carry that momentum throughout the rest of the contest from there.
Saturday was no different.
Pana came in to Taylorville and forced the Tornadoes to play their pace of basketball for the entire first quarter, which Taylorville held on and were only down 18-11 going into the second quarter. Monday, March 15, 2021
It was 2012, on a last second buzzer-beater three by Garrett Claxon, at Dolph Stanley Court in Taylorville; before Saturday night, that was the last time that Pana had hoisted the Coal Miners’ Trophy.
Saturday’s 55-49 win for the Panthers maybe wasn’t quite as thrilling as the 2012 showcase, but the victory did cap a perfect home season for Pana, and it ended an nine-year drought in the annual Route 29 Rivalry game. Monday, March 15, 2021
Like starting a Diesel engine when it’s cold, it took a couple of minutes for the Pana Panthers boys basketball team to warm up during their contest with the Edinburg Wildcats. But when they did warm up, they put it into high gear and bested the Wildcats, 69-22 on Senior Night in the PHS gym. Saturday, March 13, 2021
“That’s been our M.O. all season,” said Pana coach Brent McKinney. “We’ve had a lot of games where the first quarter has been close, within three points or so, and then we see if the other team can stay at that pace all game. There’s really only been one or two teams who have been able to do that, and we’ve worn a lot of teams down that way.” Saturday, March 13, 2021
The Pana seventh grade girls volleyball team hosted their Regional Championship match on Thursday night as Auburn came to town. The Panthers were defeated in their quest for another title, as Auburn came away with the 25-22 and 25-22 win over the Panthers on Thursday.
The Panthers fell behind big in the first set as Auburn had their lead out to 11-1, but after a timeout by pana head coach Missy Ade at 9-0, Pana fought their way back into the game. Bianca Rochkes took over serving for Pana at 18-10 in favor of Auburn, but she served three straight to 18-13 before Auburn’s coach used her first timeout. Friday, March 12, 2021
With a couple of quick drop steps, a few slick shuffles, and his windmill-like wingspan, Pana’s Andrew Ambrose was a dominant force Wednesday night when the Panthers put a running clock on Nokomis in a 70-43 win.
Ambrose finished the contest with a game-high 20 points, but he arguably had a bigger impact on the defensive end of the court. Like a tiger in tall grass, Ambrose was constantly lurking in the paint, always on the prowl for another big blocked shot. He seemed to find them in bunches Wednesday night as the 6’4” senior notched six rejections to help disparage the Redskin attack. Thursday, March 11, 2021
The Pana girls basketball team traveled to Nokomis to face off against the Redskins for the Panthers’ third game in three days. The girls must’ve been able to rest up, though, as they held Nokomis to their lowest offensive total all season and were victorious 55-13.
Pana scored 14 points in the first quarter, with Jillian Hamilton leading the way with eight in the frame, while their defense held Nokomis to two points. Hamilton again led the Panthers in the second quarter with eight points as part of 18 total for the Panthers in the second quarter. Thursday, March 11, 2021
After defeating Hillsboro on Monday at home, the Panther girls were once again in action on Tuesday as they hosted a makeup game with Litchfield. Despite the quick turnaround, Pana was able to come away with the 51-32 victory.
It was within three points after the first quarter as Pana had 13 thanks to five from Anna Beyers, four from Rachel Holthaus and two each from Brayer Denton and Lainey Hicks, but Litchfield was able to score 10 in the first quarter. Wednesday, March 10, 2021
The Pana boys basketball team hit the road against Litchfield on Tuesday night for their second road contest in as many night. Pana was able to find success this time as they topped Litchfield 66-34. Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Hillsboro’s Ian Malloy got to the basket and scored his 10th point of the night with 7.8 seconds to go in the Hiltopper’s game against Pana on Monday night. Without any timeouts, the Panthers had to hurry the ball down the court and were able to get shots up underneath the basket, but couldn’t convert as the Panthers fell 62-61. Tuesday, March 9, 2021
The Pana girls scored in the double-digits in each of the four quarters of their victory over Hillsboro at home on Monday night.
The Panthers scored 19 in the first quarter, 13 in the second, 14 in the third, and 19 in the fourth to come away with the 65-42 victory. Tuesday, March 9, 2021
The junior high Tornadoes traveled to Pana to take on the Panthers in volleyball on Thursday evening. Taylorville was able to secure both wins on the night as the seventh grade team won 25-21 and 25-19, while the eighth grade won in three sets 25-20, 15-25, and 25-13. Monday, March 8, 2021
The Pana girls traveled to Buffalo on Saturday afternoon to face off against the Tri-City Tornadoes.. The Panthers got off to a big lead early and never looked back, as they were victorious 50-27.
Pana scored 19 points in the first quarter thanks to five from Jadyn Bearup, four from Rachel Holthaus, three from Anna Beyers and Kylie Hendrickson, and two each from Kiley Ladage and Jillian Hamilton; the Tornadoes were held to five points on two baskets in the first quarter. Monday, March 8, 2021
GREENVILLE — Although the Panther girls hit the road on Friday night, they were able to get an early lead over Greenville, but fell due to a 20-point fourth quarter from the Comets, who took a 47-46 victory. Saturday, March 6, 2021
PANA — The Pana Panthers boys basketball team hosted South Central Conference rival Greenville on Friday night and early on in the contest, Pana 6-4 senior Andrew Ambrose became the 21st Panther to score their 1,000th point of their high school career. Ambrose scored 15 points in the contest and had 9 rebounds in Pana’s 58-40 win. Saturday, March 6, 2021
MACON — The Panther boys basketball team was on the road Thursday night as they faced off against Meridian. Both teams knocked down more than 25 field-goals, but it was Meridian who was able to come away with the victory at 73-69. Friday, March 5, 2021
Though loaded with juniors and a whole host of underclassmen, the pana Panthers celebrated their two seniors on Wednesday night before they hosted Gillespie in a home SCC Conference contest. Shelby Edwards and Brayer Denton got to celebrate more than just their Senior Night on Wednesday, as the Panthers were able to come away with the 56-29 victory.
“I got to know Shelby quite a bit last year, as she played on JV with me,” said Pana coach Brent McKinney. “She does everything you ask of her and she is one of the hardest-working girls that there are. She is consistently tasked with pressuring the other team’s point guard and she also has the ability to run an offense and knock down a three when she’s needed.” Thursday, March 4, 2021
The Pana seventh and eighth grade volleyball teams faced off against Nokomis on Tuesday night. The seventh grade fell 28-26 and 25-11 while the eighth grade was victorious 25-20 and 25-10. Wednesday, March 3, 2021
The Pana girls hit the road on Monday night as they traveled to Carlinville to take on the Cavaliers. The Panthers scored in double-digits in each quarter en route to their 55-36 victory, which advanced them to 2-1 in the conference and 7-1 on the season.
Anna Beyers scored five points in the first quarter and Jillian Hamilton and Lainey Hicks had four each as part of Pana’s 17-point first quarter. Beyers led the Panthers in the second quarter with six points while Brayer Denton and Kylie Hendrickson had three and Hicks and Kiley Ladage each had two. The defense also played strong in the second quarter, as the Panthers held a 15 point lead going into the break. Tuesday, March 2, 2021
After getting a running clock victory on Saturday at Mt. Pulaski, it appeared as though Pana was going to do it again on Monday night as they jumped out to an 18-8 lead after the first quarter and led Carlinville 32-17 at halftime.
The Cavies had a different idea Tuesday, March 2, 2021
The Pana boys hit the road on Friday and faced off against the Vandals. The Panthers were able to comeback after being down six going into the third quarter and came away with the 55-50 win. Saturday, February 27, 2021
The pana Panther girls basketball team faced off against Vandalia once again, this time counting towards their Conference record. The Panthers came away with the 56-25 victory to move to 2-1 in the SCC. Saturday, February 27, 2021
The Pana Junior High volleyball teams faced off against Vandalia on Thursday evening. The seventh grade Panthers were victorious 25-4 and 25-19, but the eighth grade lost 25-19, 14-25, and 18-25. Saturday, February 27, 2021
A stifling defense and a balanced scoring attack by the Pana Panthers’ starting five led them to a 59-39 win over the Roxana Shells Wednesday night,
Pana’s defense shined as well during the game. Roxana had two leads, one at 2-0 and the other, 12-11 after Parris White’s lay-up with 54 seconds left in the first quarter. In the final 50 seconds, the Panthers went on a 6-0 run - a three from Devon Peebles and an old-fashion three-point play from Schoonover with 3 seconds left, putting Pana up for good, 17-12 when the period ended. Thursday, February 25, 2021
The Pana junior high volleyball teams remained undefeated in the SCC Conference as the teams swept Greenville, with the seventh grade winning 25-23 and 25-6 while the eighth grade won 25-23 and 25-6. Wednesday, February 24, 2021
A four-point loss on Friday at Piasa saw the Panthers open their Conference season with a loss. The Panther girls bounced back against Staunton on Monday night as they picked up a statement win with a 56-22 victory.
Pana was able to constantly disrupt the Staunton offense, as they were jumping into passing lanes and getting a lot of tipped balls, which forced turnovers and turned into easy points on their end of the floor. They also were able to beat the Bulldogs in transition on multiple occasions, getting the ball out off of a made Bulldog basket and taking it the length of the floor quickly. Tuesday, February 23, 2021
The Panther boys hit the road on Monday night as they faced off against the Staunton Bulldogs.
The Panthers showed off their ability to score, especially Colin Schmitz who led all scorers with 23, in their 72-41 victory. Tuesday, February 23, 2021
The Pana junior high volleyball team was able to sweep Christian County opponent Central A&M on Monday evening as the seventh grade won 25-19 and 25-15 while the eighth grade won 25-7 and 25-20. Tuesday, February 23, 2021
PIASA — The Pana girls basketball team hit the road on Friday night to take on the Piasa Birds for their first official SCC conference matchup. The Panthers fell in their opener as they were defeated 45-41. Saturday, February 20, 2021
HILLSBORO — The junior high Pana Panther volleyball teams were on the road on Thursday as they faced off against Hillsboro. Both the seventh and eighth grade teams came back with wins as the seventh grade won 25-4 and 25-20, while the eighth grade won in three sets 24-26, 25-17, and 25-18. Friday, February 19, 2021
The Pana girls hit the road for the second time in the week as they took on Auburn. The Panthers left Auburn with the 65-29 victory.
Pana opened the game with a 22-point first quarter as Anna Beyers picked up eight points, Kylie Hendrickson and Rachel Holthaus each had six, and Lainey Hicks and Jillian Hamilton each had two while their defense held the Trojans to five points. Monday, February 15, 2021
The Pana Panthers hit the road on Saturday as they took on Buffalo Tri-City. The Panther defense helped lead them to a 65-31 victory.
The Panthers held Tri-City to just two points in the first quarter while they scored 21 thanks to six from Brenden Schoonover and Andrew Ambrose, four from Colin Schmitz, three from Kyle Kuhn, and two from Lane Funneman. Monday, February 15, 2021
A quick turnaround for the Pana junior high volleyball teams as they played Lincoln on Thursday night. The Panthers were successful as the seventh grade won 25-4 and 25-12 while the eighth grade won 25-9 and 25-8. Friday, February 12, 2021
Vandalia senior guard Mitchell Casey poured in 17 first-half points Wednesday night in a contest against rival Pana. The Panthers were clinging to a slight lead at the break, but Casey looked determined to single-handedly carry his team to victory. Thursday, February 11, 2021
The Tornado girls bowling team traveled to Pana on Tuesday to take on the Panthers. Despite being undefeated in the season prior to their match, the Tornado girls fell by 13 pins on the afternoon 2096-2083. Wednesday, February 10, 2021
The Pana Panthers boys basketball team opened up their season on the road against Greenville in a non-conference matchup on Monday evening. The Panthers had a shot to tie the game at the end, but Greenville’s Des Gardner got a hand on it to block it to seal the Comet 48-45 victory. Tuesday, February 9, 2021
The Pana girls basketball team opened their season at home on Monday night, with the Greenville Comets visiting. Though it was freezing outside, the action got hot quickly in the gym and stayed intense throughout, with the Panthers able to hang on for a 64-48 victory.
Greenville got the first points of the game on their opening possession with a deep three, which was quickly answered by Jillian Hamilton with a three of her own in quick transition. The Comets would once again answer her three with a three of their own, and stalled the Panthers on the ensuing drive to take a small lead. Tuesday, February 9, 2021
The Pana junior high volleyball teams got their seasons underway on Tuesday evening as they faced off against Hillsboro. The seventh grade and eighth grade Panthers both swept the visiting Hilltoppers, with the seventh grade victorious 25-11 and 25-10 while the eighth grade won 25-16 and 25-18. Thursday, February 4, 2021
