b9323607876z-1_20160903003234_000_gmhfjjc0v-1-0STEVENS POINT – No one can accuse Joey Roth and the rest of the Stevens Point Area Senior High football team of having short memories.

Still fresh on their minds was a stinging loss to Fond du Lac last season that found the Cardinals erase an 11-point deficit in the third quarter.

Putting together a near flawless opening 24 minutes Friday night, the Panthers made sure Fond du Lac had no chance to make a comeback this time.

Scoring the first five times it touched the ball, including three touchdown passes by quarterback Beau Rosenthal, SPASH made an early-season statement with a 45-14 drubbing of the Cardinals at Community Stadium in Goerke Park.

“(Last year’s game) was definitely on our minds,” said Roth, a senior defensive back who recovered a bad snap on a punt in the end zone for a touchdown and had an interception.

“We were definitely out to get them, I mean after that loss to them last year. We had some stuff that we had to take care of and I’m glad we got it done.”

Just about every individual the Panthers put on the field got it done on both sides of the football.

Rosenthal was efficient in the passing game, completing 7 of 10 passes for 162 yards. All three of his touchdown passes came in the opening half when the Panthers built an insurmountable 31-0 lead.

Jack Helfand served as the primary threat for SPASH in the passing game over the first two games, accounting for three touchdowns through the air.

He handed that job over to Joey Hauser, who returned after missing the first two games recovering from a concussion, against the Cardinals. He finished with three receptions for 62 yards and TDs of 51 and 6 yards.

“At the end of the day, they kicked our tails. Credit them. They made plays and we didn’t,” Cardinals coach Mike Gnewuch said. “They beat us in every aspect and every phase of the game. It’s football basics. We have to block better and we have to tackle better. Every phase of the game, everything went wrong.”

Just about everything went right for SPASH.

Featuring a whole heck of a lot of physicality up front, the Panthers struck a lethal balance between the running game — Gus Turner Zick churned out 128 yards on 15 carries, while Colton Kizewski chimed in with scoring runs of 19 and 16 yards — and the pass.

Meanwhile, Fond du Lac quarterback Jack Cole was under constant harassment from an aggressive and relentless SPASH defense that never allowed the Cardinals to get into any rhythm.

Barely a time went by when Cole, who went 19-for-42 for 192 yards and a pair of interceptions, dropped back to throw the ball when he didn’t get helped up from the artificial turf.

“We just kept pushing the pace and hitting them hard, and we knew if we did that they would get tired and not like it very much and shut down,” Roth said.

Fond du Lac came in averaging 28 points through its first two outings.

However, the Cardinals, who mustered just seven points until a meaningless touchdown with 11 seconds left against the SPASH reserves, were smothered most of the night.

It would be hard to imagine a better Panthers team showing up than the one that ran roughshod over state-ranked Fond du Lac from start to finish.

“Our kids came out lights out,” SPASH coach Pete McAdams said. “Coming into a night you never really know how focused or how ready your players are until you come out and play the game. Our kids just executed trememdously well. My hats off to our players.”

First Quarter

SPASH – Joey Dorgan 24 FG, 8:09

SPASH – Joey Hauser 51 pass from Beau Rosenthal (Dorgan kick), 4:15

Second Quarter

SPASH – Hauser 6 pass from Rosenthal (Dorgan kick), 11:58

SPASH – Gus Turner-Zick 47 pass from Rosenthal (Dorgan kick), 8:57

SPASH – Colton Kizewski 19 run (Dorgan kick), 2:25

Third Quarter

FdL – Joe Kuber 44 pass from Jack Cole (Jared Scheberl kick), 10:23

SPASH – Kizewski 16 run (Dorgan kick), 5:04

Fourth Quarter

SPASH – Joey Roth recovered bad snap in end zone (Dorgan kick), 2:47

FdL – Keon Jefferson 6 run (Scheberl kick), :11

Records: SPASH 3-0, 2-0 VFS-South; Fond du Lac 1-2, 0-2 VFA-South.