By David DeKunder
Staff Writer

The state-ranked Blanco Panthers continue to dominate their opponents, the latest one being the Randolph Ro-Hawks, who the Panthers defeated 42-13 last Friday in Blanco.

Blanco’s Layton Dwo-raczyk scored four consecutive touchdowns in the first half and quarterback Derek Tesch threw for three touchdown passes as the Panthers won the District 27-2A opener for both teams.

Blanco, which is ranked at No. 8 in the latest Associated Press Class 2A poll, improved to 5-0. The Ro-Hawks, who have lost three straight games, fell to 1-4.

Dworaczyk had an all-around performance for Blanco, scoring three rushing touchdowns on runs of 10, one and 26 yards and catching one score from Tesch for 23 yards.

The Panthers totaled 346 yards of offense, 195 yards rushing and 151 yards passing.

“Blanco has four good skills guys,”Randolph coach Pete Wesp said. “This is one of the best Blanco teams I have seen. They are just better.”

Blanco did most of its scoring in the first half as the Ro-Hawks allowed only one touchdown in the second half, a 67-yard pass from Tesch to running back Kevin Gray in the third quarter.

Wesp said the Ro-Hawks played much better in the second half, considering Blanco did not take out most of their starters until five minutes left in the game. Wesp said the play of the Ro-Hawks in the second half was a “moral victory”for his team, which he hopes can be carried into the rest of the season.

Randolph got both of their scores in the fourth quarter, on a 60-yard run by Deron Terrell and a 24-yard pass from Nick Walters to Kyle McNally. Terrell led the Ro-Hawks with 174 yards on 20 carries.

“The best thing about the game was that Deron Terrell started running the ball,” Wesp said. “If he can continue what he did against Blanco, we should be okay.”

Wesp’s biggest concerns about the Ro-Hawks continue to be mental mistakes and penalties. Two of the first four Ro-Hawk snaps of the game resulted in fumbles, which Randolph was able to recover. In addition, the Ro-Hawks were penalized eight times for 61 yards.

“Any time we had a drive going, we would get a 10 or 15-yard penalty,” Wesp said.

While Blanco is by far the best and most dominant team in the district, Wesp said the Ro-Hawks should remain in the mix for the second and third playoff spots with five games left in the regular season.

“It could go anyway on any given night,” Wesp said.

The Ro-Hawks have a bye this week. Their next game will be Oct. 10 when they host the Comfort Bobcats at 7:30 p.m. at Ro-Hawk Stadium. Wesp said he hopes to use the week off to improve the team’s schemes so that they will be better once district play resumes.