Eaton Eagles Bedeviled by Brookville

 The Brookville Blue Devils went against the Eaton Eagles in a SWBL Buckeye division clash of 1 loss teams. The winner would have a chance of garnering a share of the division title, while the loser would drop down in the standings.  Also with the state playoffs looming, the winner would move up a notch or two which is important as the top 8 teams in each district open the playoffs at home. So there was a lot at stake in this game.

The game was held on Senior night as it was the last home game for the Brookville squad.  And on this night it was fitting that Brookville senior Keegan Mehr rose to the occasion.  He would account for over 200 all purpose yards, he passed for 1 touchdown and ran for 2 more.  He contributed in a huge way as Brookville would surge ahead for a 37-17 victory.

Eaton scored first as they utilized a balanced run/pass offense to move the ball down the field. It was like a West Coast style offense as they used quick, short passes along with the occasional run to keep the defense honest.  A sack by Jake Lenser put Eaton into long yardage and they had to settle for a field goal on their 1st possession - a 45 yard effort by Jon Hewitt.

But Brookville responded hastily.  On their 1st play from scrimmage Brookville looked to pass. Mehr could not find anyone open and scrambled out of the pocket.  He weaved through the rushers and then hit the afterburners to race 78 yards for a Blue Devil score.  This gave Brookville a 7-3 lead and they would hold onto that lead the rest of the game.

Eaton did drive the ball into Brookville territory, but they were unable to score in the 2nd quarter.  After the Brookville defense stopped Eaton on 4th and 2, the Brookville offense went to work with 5:28 left before halftime. They methodically made their way down the field and with seconds left on the clock Mehr connected with Preston Orr for a 10 yard touchdown pass.  This put Brookville up 15-3 at the break.

Brookville recieved the ball to start the 2nd half.  Using a ground and pound style offense they chewed up a lot of clock as they made their way down the field.  Jake Lenser punched the ball in from 4 yards out to put Brookville up 23-3. Brookville had scored on both of their last 2 possessions.  Now Eaton was staring at a tall hill to climb to get back into the game. They needed at least 3 scores to catch up.

To their credit, Eaton got one of those scores late in the 3rd quarter.  A pass interference penalty on a 4th down play gave them a fresh set of downs.  Braden Deem caught a long pass and was brought down on the 2 yard line where Cordis Berard dove across the line for a touchdown, this made it 23-10.  At the end of 3 quarters, Eaton was trying to get 4th quarter rally going. 

But the Brookville offense was running on 8 cylinders.  They marched the ball down the field and Jake Lenser again made it a 3 score game by plunging in from 5 yards out.  Now Eaton had to air the ball out and score quickly to have a chance.  The Brookville defense was up to the challenge. Walt Adams and Cole Crabtree both had 4th quarter picks that ended Eaton drives.

Eaton did find the endzone one last time.  Preston Orr caught a Chris Adkins pass late in the 4th quarter. Eaton went for the onsides kick and after fighting the wind that kept blowing the ball off the tee, it was finally launched. Devan Rader did recover the ball for Eaton, but Brookville's Cole Crabtree's interception put the game away for good. 

Both teams have tough games on their schedule for next week.   Both Waynesville and Valley View are undefeated in the SWBL Buckeye division.  Brookville travels to Valley View and Eaton will host Waynesville.   

Game pics at Media Fire

Shawnee Arrows Shootdown North Panthers

 

The Preble Shawnee Arrows were homecoming spoilers as they prevailed over the host Tri-County North Panthers 55-22.  Early on it was apparent that it would be the ball control offense of the Panthers against the explosive Shawnee offense. North wanted a 3 yards and a cloud of dust style of offense to keep the Arrows on the sidelines and tire out their defense.  Meanwhile Shawnee wanted to make the most of their opportunities and strike quickly.

The contrasting styles of offense manifested themselves in the 1st half.  Astoundingly North only allowed Shawnee 1 offensive play in the entire 1st quarter.  If the ball game were based on time of possession, then North would have been winning at this point.  However, Shawnee only needed 1 play to score - a 68 yard pass from Brody Morton to Reece Smith.  So the Arrows were making the most of their chances. North did manage to score first - on a Logan Flory 7 yard run. Despite the lopsided time of possession at the end of the 1st quarter the teams were knotted 8 all.

Shawnee's Dave Maddox: "Our defense started out a little slow, but North is tough.  The way they run the option, it is hard to defend - you have to stay disciplined.  We did a much better job of defending it in the 2nd half. That is dangerous for us if we allow them to chew up clock like that and keep our offense off the field."

Shawnee's defense now began to make plays in the 2nd quarter, and the offense kept that same quick strike rythem going.  Smith picked off a North pass in the endzone to end their 1st drive of the quarter.  Kaden Taylor made North pay for this turnover a few plays later when he caught a 15 yard pass in the endzone to pull Shawnee ahead. Another turnover set up Shawnee's next score.  Ashton Agnew pulled in a North fumble and this gave Shawnee a very short field at the North 32 yard line.  Lane Lovely ran the ball in from 22 yards to extend the Arrow lead.

North was able to answer thanks to Colten VanWinkle returning a kickoff 42 yards and giving North a short field to work with.  Logan Flory plunged across the goal line from 1 yard out making the score at this point 15-23 in favor of Shawnee.  Despite not playing their best game, North was still in striking distance late in the 2nd quarter. 

But the Shawnee offense did not need much time to score and with a little over 2 minutes they were able to quickly put distance between themselves and the Panthers with not 1, but 2 scores.  After a Shawnee penalty, a screen pass to Isaac Blankenship went 59 yards for a TD.  North was trying to get into the endzone one more time before halftime when Brody Lynch made a huge play by sacking the North quarterback, forcing a punt.

The North punt was not a good one and Shawnee got the ball at midfield.  Smith would end yet another 1 play drive with a touchdown catch, this one for 51 yards.  That widened the lead to 37-15.  What had been a close game seemed almost out of reach within the space of a couple of minutes. 

So coming out of the locker room at halftime, Shawnee had all of the momentum.  They got the ball to start the half and the offense wasted no time in scoring. Riley Stevenson rambled 63 yards to give Shawnee another score.  When you combine the end of the 1st half with the beginning of the 2nd half, that is 3 Shawnee touchdowns in under 3 minutes - lightning fast.  

Meanwhile the Shawnee defense seemed to have adjusted at halftime and North was struggling to sustain drives.  Shawnee's Isaac Blankenship scored again on a 6 yard run late in the 3rd quarter.  North had one more drive in them late in the game. North's Logan Flory managed to score on a 14 yard run in the 4th quarter, and that would be the last score as Shawnee secured their victory 52-22.

"It was a weird game, kind of a weird start as I didn't get to see many of our offensive plays.  Our defensive would come in and we would coach them up and the next thing we know the offense is in the endzone. But it was part of our stragedy to score fast, when North gets their offense going you don't know how many opportunities you will get.   I was very happy with how our offense played, it shows how many weapons we have - guys that can get their hands on the ball and be dangerous. Brody Moore did a great job at quarterback.  The offense executed the way that we had hoped.  Lane Lovely is a tough player on both sides of the ball - he had a good game tonight. Isaac Blankenship played a good game for us and Kaden Taylor scored for us too.  Those are all good skilled players - tall, fast, and athletic."  

The win keeps Shawnee's hope of a share of the WOAC league title alive.  They will need to win their last 3 games of the season - including a game against undefeated Ansonia to make this happen.

Next week Shawnee will host Arcanum and North will host Ansonia.

Game pics at: MediaFire

Big Plays by Northridge Puts Away Covington

 

  

The youthful Covington Buccaneer football played with the Northridge Polar Bears for about a half. The Polar Bears had a big play offense that the Bucc's just could not keep up with.  Covington kept themselves within striking distance for most of the 1st half, but they could not consistantly stop the Polar Bear offense and the Polar Bear defense shut out the Buccs in the 2nd half.

Northridge scored 1st on a 66 yard catch by Brandon Thomas. Covington quickly answered with a big play of their own on the ensuing kickoff as they did a reverse and Daylynn Garret took the ball 82 yards to the house.  Covington made their extra point and briefly held the lead.

Dorreyan Davis found Ja'dynn Martin on a 44 yard completion for a touchdown to put the Polar Bears back on top.  But the Covington team was able to respond again and Garret caught a Landin Cassel pass for a 12 yard touchdown catch.  Early on the two teams were playing even.  It was the big plays of Northridge against the methodical Covington offense.

The 1st time Covington went for it on 4th down, they made it and went on to score a TD.  The team went for it again on a 4th and 5 and this time Northridge stopped them. Once again that big play offense went to bat and Brandon Thomas made a 66 yard catch that put the ball on the 6 yard line where Davis ran the ball in to put Northridge up 22-14.

Covington gave up another big play just before halftime when Tie'on Hill scored from midfield.  It had been a one score game, but now they were down 28-14 at the break.  Coming out at halftime, Northridge had the momentum and the ball.

Both teams had problems holding onto that ball in the 2nd half.  But Northridge seemed to be able to capitalize on the opportunities, while the Covington offense had problems putting together a consistent drive - either a turnover or a penalty would stop their offense.  Covington's Eli Brooks had a fumble recovery and Jordan Miller had an interception.  Meanwhile Northridge's Thomas had 2 interceptions and Hill had 1.  One of Thomas's interceptions ended a Covington drive that had gone to the 14 yard line.

The Polar Bear defense made some big plays too with timely sacks and interceptions to end Buccaneer drives.  Meanwhile the offense kept playing the same tune in the 2nd half.  Chris Evans had a 77 yard touchdown and Emilio Blythe had a 27 yard touchdown run to end the scoring.  It would be a 44-14 Northridge win.

Next week Covington travels to Milton Union and Northridge will host Bethel.

Game pics at Media Fire

Tri-County North Panthers Victors Over Arcanum Trojans

 

The Tri-County North Panthers controlled the line of scrimmage on offense and utilized an opportunistic defense in their 42-20 victory over league rival Arcanum. The team ground out yardage inbetween the tackles where Colten VanWinkle earned the bulk of the Panther gains.  They used a double wing offense for the entire game.  Arcanum, on the other hand, had their quarterback in the backfield most of the game and mixed in the pass along with the run.

Coach Smitherman, "Our offensive line has really done a good job of taking care of business. They come to work with their hard hats on and they try to get after it.  They do what the coaches ask them - and the coaches have done a fantastic job coaching them." 

North's defense was hard hitting and they had the edge in turnovers.They held Arcanum on 3 4th downs and got 3 interceptions (VanWinkle,Mason Givens - 2) and a fumble recovery. North did cough up the ball once, but the Trojans were not able to capitalize.

Coach Smitherman, "I am really proud of the defense. They are behind the 8 ball and they are trying to get better - being at the right spot at the right time. They did what they were supposed and got some turnovers for us. This helped us offensively to punch in the ball [after a turnover]."

The Trojans did put together a few nice drives, but they kept giving North favorable field position.  They also had some problems with snaps - there were 3-4 muffed snaps to the quarterback that put them in long yardage and then a problem with the snap on a punt gave North a short field.  They did keep the game within striking distance for 3 quarters, but North put them away in the 4th quarter.

North struck first as they received the opening kick off and Logan Flory ran around 90 yards to give North a lead that they would keep the rest of the way.  North was up 2 scores when VanWinkle later ran the ball in from about 14 yards out.  

Arcanum's Luceas Midlam put the Trojans on the board with a 69 yard run and now it was a game.  At the end of the opening quarter it was 15-6 North. Givens ran 18 yards for North's next score on a 4th and 3 play on the 18 yard line.  North's offense was also making big plays on 4th down.  

Arcanum made a hard charge at the end of the half.  They scored on a 4th down play themselves. Truman Knaus caught a Bishop Cartwright pass for a 25 yard touchdown towards the end of the quarter.  Coach Macy decidied to go with an onsides kick - this was recovered by Arcanum's MJ Macy with seconds left on the clock.  Arcanum tried for another score before the break, but a Givens interception sent the Trojans to the locker room.  At the break it was a close game, North 22 - Arcanum 12.

The 3rd quarter was scoreless as both teams had turnovers and could not find the endzone.  Although at the end of the quarter, North had driven to the Arcanum 13. And so they completed this drive at the start of the final quarter with a 13 yard TD. 

Down by 3 scores Arcanum now came out firing on their next possession.  But VanWinkle snagged a pass and ended that drive and put the ball on the Arcanum 30. Working with a short field, North slowly punched the ball towards the endzone.  Culiminating the drive with a 2 yard plunge by Garret Hutchison. 

Arcanum's last score was by Dakota Kendig, he ran 6 yards for his touchdown with a little over 5 minutes on the clock.  It was North's VanWinkle who provided the final margin of victory when he rambled for 28 yards for the final touchdown of the game.  The win puts North at 3-2 on the season and Arcanum is 2-3.

North's coach, Trace Smitherman, was still a little gimpy from a hit he took on the sideline when players went out of bounds, "This is a big win, our group of seniors has not beat Arcanum so we are glad that they had this opportunity. The team is really starting to come together defensively. We haven't played our best but we continue to get better every week. We have to continue to do that. " 

Next week North will journey to Tri-Village and Arcanum will host National Trail.

Game Pics at:  MediaFire

Trail - North Game is a Thriller

 

Host National Trail played neighboring Tri-County North in the first WOAC conference game of the season for both schools. It was an opportunity for both teams to get their first win of the season and even better - to get that win against a conference opponent. The teams were evenly matched and it was a close game with several lead changes that was not decided until late in the 4^th quarter.

It was exciting for the fans as both teams reached deep into their playbooks to try and get an edge. Trail went for it on 4^th down on their own 20 yard yard line and made it. While TCN had a halfback pass for their 1^st score of the game. The game had an ebb and a flow as each teams fortunes rose and fell.

Trails coach Hoffman on the 4^th down play,“Both Jamison Watts and Joey Roberts are seniors and have been in this situation before. They have both started since they were freshmen. Roberts is a big time pass catcher.”

Trail struck first as Jody Withrow ran 48 yards to score. But Trail missed their extra point. So when North scored on a half back pass from Garrett Hutchinson to Franklin Filburn and made their point after touchdown, it gave North the lead.

Jamison Watts, who had a phenomenal night for Trail, made a heads up play just before halftime to put the Blazers up at the break. TCN had driven deep into Trail territory. North runs a double wing offense which uses the triple option. Watts was able to make a play on the ball when the option went to his side and run it back about 75 yards for a touchdown. This would not be his only turnover for this night.

Hoffman: “Tonight he was the best player on the field. He's gained 25 pounds and put on 2 inches since last season. He is fast and athletic, but not only is he talented, he is smart. He is like having another coach on the field. On either offense or defense he can tell everybody what to do.”

North tried to answer but a sack by Josh Welz on 4^th and 1 ended their drive. There was still time on the clock and Trail had favorable field position on the North 33. But when Trail tried to add to their lead North's Logan Flory put and end to that threat with an interception. So at the half the score was 12-7 in favor of Trail.

On North's opening drive Watts would strike again and end the Panther threat as he would recover a North fumble at the Trail 38. Once again he would make them pay for their mistake. On the 1^st play from scrimmage he would find a seam and then race 62 yards down the sideline for a score. It looked like Trail had control of the game.

But the North offense got serious and went into a long ball controlling drive. The drive culminated in a score as Colten VanWinkle ran into the endzone from 13 yards out. Trail immediately went to work and drove almost the length of the field. But an injury to Trails quarterback Watts at a critical time would end the drive. It was 4^th down in North territory and a muffed handoff happened with the backup in the game. Watts would sit out a few plays and then re-enter the game.

This gave North the ball with a little over 8 minutes left in the game. North went uptempo with their offense. A catch by Colten VanWinkle put the ball on the 16 yard line where he ran the ball in for the score. North opted to go for 2 and get the lead. Logan Flory was able to convert the 2 point try and suddenly North was cooking again – they were up 21-20 with about 3 and half minutes left on the clock.

“When we scored easily at first I thought what's the deal – I thought they would be tougher than that. But boy did they come back and they fought hard. They had us down and they could easily have beaten us. But we got a couple of good plays when we needed it. The kids did not panic.”

Trail got a good return but North aided them with a late hit that put the ball at midfield. Trail got the ball into the redzone. The Trail staff must have seen something open in the middle of the North pass coverage. On 4^th and 11 they passed the ball into the heart of the North defense for the go ahead touchdown. This made the score 28-21 in favor of Trail with 1:15 on the clock.

North made a last ditch effort to score in final minute. But the Trail defense played with inspiration and turned up the heat, the North quarterback was sacked twice. They had to turn over the ball on downs and so Trail was able to take a knee to seal their hard won victory.

“Their quarterback [Logan Flory] and fullback [Colten VanWinkle] are as tough as players as I have seen. We had trouble stopping them all night long. VanWinkle is a downhill runner and Flory made some plays.

Next week Trail will host Preble Shawnee and North will host Dayton Christian.

Carlisle Upends South

 

Last years match up between these two schools was a close game decided by a touchdown. So fans of both teams were looking forward to a similar back and forth battle to kick off the 2023 season. But Carlisle dominated early on offense while the defense pitched a shutout to put Twin Valley South away 37-0.

The bigger, stronger line of Carlisle took control of the line of scrimmage and the Indians used their running game to control the clock. The time of possession, particularly in the 1^st half, was overwhelming in favor of Carlisle. South's offense may have had 6-7 minutes on the field during that span. Carlisle used a double wing offense and mixed in a 2 back set.

Their offense featured the run and Carlisle passed sparingly through most of the game. But when they did pass, it was effective. They ran a play action to get the TVS to bite on the run and then quarterback Cooper Steckel passed over their heads to score or set up a big gain.

Carlisle was clearly the better team, but TVS did not help their cause with mistakes. In their 1^st drive a run for a 1^st down was called back due to holding penalty. That made it long yardage and they eventually had to punt. Then on their possession, Carlisle went for it on 4^th and 5 twice – and made it both times. The TVS defensive line jumped offsides in the first instance. The Panther secondary bit on the run on the next attempt and Carlisle completed a pass to keep the drive alive and so they eventually scored a touchdown.

The momentum shift was not done, Carlisle did an onsides kick off and Ethan Hamm recovered for the visiting team. That drive ended in a score. A chop block put TVS in a 1^st and 25 in their next possession, which eventually ended with them punting. Carlisle scored on this drive as well.

South did threaten just before halftime but a Silas Borders interception ended the drive around the Carlisle 37. It was 22-0 at halftime.

South had favorable midfield position to start the 2^nd half, but a Cruz Allison fumble recovery ended that drive at the Carlisle 35. Carlisle continued their momentum ending this drive with a 35 yard TD pass. Carlisle would only pass 7 times on the night, but were very effective - 6 of these were receptions and 2 were for touchdowns.

South tried to take to the air themselves to try and score late in the 4^th quarter, but the Carlisle defense remained stubborn. Carson Osborne got a sack on 4^th and 8 on Carlisle's 33 yard line to dash South's last chance at a score.

The victory completed a trifecta start by the SWBL over the WOAC conference on opening day as both Brookville and Madison also won their games. Next week Carlisle will host 1-0 Miami East while Twin Valley South will open WOAC conference play - travelling to 1-0 Arcanum.

Game pics at MediaFire

South Scrimmages Cincinnati Country Day

 

The Twin Valley South Panthers saw some preseason action in their 1st scrimmage under new headcoach Brian Butts. The TVS Varsity scored 3 times and CCD varsity scored twice. The TVS running game was in good shape. Those backs are running down hill and they rarely were brought down on 1st contact. Blocking was good, I thought CCD had bigger kids overall, but South was able to create running lanes. The passing game was spotty at best - but it is still preseason. They probably attempted a dozen or more passes, but only completed maybe a handful. Having said that - their last TD was through the air. 

South ran a double wing offense and also a 2 back offense.  They switched back and forth. 

Defense seemed to bend at times, but got tough in the redzone. The CCD offense spread out the field and ran sets with a single back for the most part. Depending on the situation, they would go to an open backfield or a 2 back formation.  They did a good job of mixing the run and pass.  One of the ref's remarked to me that the two teams were evenly matched, it would have been good to see them play a regular game. I agree with him, it was a good matchup.  Depending on how each team fares in the regular season, they are in the same district so there would be a chance of them meeting in the post season.

 CCD scored twice on the TVS JV's, but they did not have enough kids to field a complete JV squad. So the TVS JV's were pretty much playing the CCD varsity during the series that they were in. 

South Playoff Bound After Win Over North

 

Both North and South entered their last regular season game with playoff hopes. It made the rivalry that much more intense as the loser could very well end up watching the playoffs from home. It was a well attended game and that helped give it a playoff atmosphere. The 2 teams sparred through a scoreless first quarter, but it was South that erupted for 28 points in the 2nd quarter to break the game open. One of these scores was from a blocked punt by Eric Allison that was recovered in the endzone by Caiden Kingsley just before halftime. South's defense was able to pitch a shutout for the 3^rd time this season as they would carry home the Battle of the Panthers trophy with a 42-0 victory.

TVS coach Fogle: “Our defense plays lights out. They have been our mainstay all year. Sometimes we bend, but we don't break. They just keep up the pressure. Our goal tonight was to pitch a shutout and we did that.”

North did make a drive deep into South territory in the 3^rd quarter. A halfback pass from Colten VanWinkle to a wide open Jon Shirley helped to get the ball past midfield. They got all the way to TVS 10 yard line and then began to go backwards. A Caiden Kingsley tackle for loss pushed them back and a 4^th and 25 pass fell incomplete to end the drive.

The win puts TVS in the playoffs and they will have to travel to meet their opponent. At this time, the bracket has not been published. With the loss North's season ends.

TVS coach Fogle: “We had to really fight the 1^st half of the season, but here we closed out with 4 wins in a row. The kids are hungry, they are eager – ready to go and now we want to make a run in the playoffs. Tonight the 1^st quarter was slow but once we got a taste of the endzone we really got it going. It was kind of a playoff atmosphere tonight and I hope that they continue to travel with us where ever we may go in the playoffs.”

Others who scored for TVS: Brayden Koeller 68 yd & 5yd TD runs; Cais Kingsley 6 yd & 3 TD runs – he ends the season with over 1,000 yards rushing.; Cole Bishop 25 yd TD run.  Brayden Koller also finished the season as the all time leader in tackles at TVS.

game pics at mediafire