Spring Lake Park has a reputation of being big and tough, running over opponents on offense while stopping them in their tracks defensively.

So leave it to the slimmest player on the Panthers’ roster, 5-foot-9, 132-pound Colin Welch, to ignite the Panthers in a 35-14 victory Friday over Armstrong.

Welch, listed as a defensive back but valued for his kick-returning skills, took the opening kickoff 79 yards to the Armstrong 21-yard-line.

Unfortunately for Welch, he didn’t wind up in the end zone, stumbling with pay dirt in sight.

“The turf monster got me,” Welch said.

No matter, Welch was in prime return mode all evening. As the Panthers defense was occupied stifling the Armstrong offense, Welch was making his presence felt. He had a 21-yard punt return not long after the Panthers took a 7-0 lead on a 74-yard, second-quarter gallop by sophomore running back Marqueal Mitchell.

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Leading 14-7 late in the first half following Armstrong’s lone bright spot, a 41-yard touchdown pass from Gabe Hall to Farelle Deline, Welch tattooed his stamp on the game.

He took the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, draining Armstrong of any momentum gained by their score.

“I had to get it back after what happened [on the first kickoff return],” said Welch, who confirmed his listed weight. “I had two blockers in front of me, and I was screaming at them to block the last dude, who was the kicker. Just screaming at them. And they did.”

“He’s a great returner,” Spring Lake Park coach John Stewart said. “He’s pretty tough, and he doesn’t back down from anyone. His first return really gave us a lot enthusiasm.”

The Panthers (5-0) played inspired on both sides of the ball. The offense moved the ball effectively, and the defense spent a large part of the game making a mess of the Armstrong backfield. The Panthers had 10 tackles for loss.

“They’re aggressive, and they were playing lights-out football,” Stewart said. “They’re some high football IQ kids, and they compete like that.”

A big part of their defensive intensity, said senior linebacker and captain Cade Skelly, was that it was homecoming at Spring Lake Park. Most of the players had never won on homecoming before.

“We had a big chip on our shoulder from not winning homecoming in like five or six years,” Skelly said. “We needed to win this game. Armstrong is a tough team, but we wanted to win so badly.”