Preble Shawnee's improbable tournament run came to an end in the regional finals against the Versailles Tigers at Trotwood Madison this past Saturday. Shawnee has a decent sized line and matched up well against other teams this fall, but the Tigers sported linemen a size larger. The senior laden team was able to dominate the line of scrimmage throughout the game. The Tigers would end up regional champs 28-0, ending Shawnee's winning streak at 13.
It was a good night for small school football in Ohio. The air was cool and crisp and both stands were filled to capacity with rabid fans rooting for their hometown team. As each teams fortunes rose and fell, you could tell what was happening by which stands were louder. There was definitely a playoff atmosphere in the stadium.
Versailles scored on their first offensive drive of the night. The Arrows then had 2 chances to score and answer in the first half. The first drive was stopped inside the 20 yard line of Versailles when a muffed hand off fell to the ground and Versailles recovered the ball. The second drive went to the 22 yard line of Versailles, but an interception stopped this drive. Versailles then drove the length of the field to score themselves and go up 14-0 at halftime.
In the 2nd half Shawnee had a tough time establishing a consistent offense. And defensively they took to blitzing linebackers to try and stop the running game of the Tigers. This was high risk and high reward. They did make some tackles behind the line of scrimmage. But if a runner broke through the line, he was able to ramble and gain good yardage before the secondary brought him down. The Tigers were able to score 2 more times once on the ground and once by air to provide the final margin of victory.
Shawnee Coach Dave Maddox, “They got the momentum and took off with it – we couldn't catch up. The turnovers didn't help, but we couldn't match up physically with them. They were big and powerful up front. That's where a game is won – in the trenches. It doesn't matter who you have carrying the ball when you have big ole horses like that up front. Hats off to them – that is a good football team.”
Still it was a season of firsts for the young Arrows. First conference football championship for the program ever, and the first ever in the new Western Ohio Athletic Conference. Most wins in a season for the program as well. No other Preble county school has accumulated 13 wins in a row in a single season. So this young team has put Preble Shawnee football on the map.
“We hate to lose, but we count this season as a success. We had a lot of firsts. We won more games than any other Shawnee team in history. First time winning a conference title. First time making a qualified playoff. First time winning a playoff game. We have nothing to hang our heads about.”
At the beginning of the season, no one would have projected that the Arrows would go this deep into the playoffs. A young team in a new league – even though they won out, they had not been tested by any division 5 teams during the regular season. But as the level of competition increased in the playoffs, the Arrows rose their level of play. It was a good run and with this team only losing 3 players to graduation Shawnee players and fans should be looking forward to next years season.
Lastly coach Maddox was asked about the seniors, “We only had 3 seniors and they had like 18. That was a big difference. But we will miss our seniors, they worked their butts off. They helped us achieve everything that we were able to accomplish.”
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