By George Starks |
NEW MADISON- Tri-Village took control of the night Friday with county rival Arcanum.
It was a successful Homecoming night for the Patriots as they posted a 43-0 shutout against the Trojans in a key Western Ohio Athletic Conference battle.
“I tell the guys it’s a little more fun when you win on Friday night,” said Pat’s coach Matt Hopkins. “It’s even better on homecoming night.”
Tri-Village took control on its opening possession. Starting on their own 41 yard line, the Patriots wasted no time scoring as senior quarterback Brandon Keeting ran the ball in from 11 yards out. After a successful PAT, the Patriots were up 7-0 at the 9:44 mark of the opening quarter.
By the end of the first 12 minutes, it was pretty much all academic as Tri-Village held a commanding 27-0 lead.
On defense the Trojans had no answer for the Patriots offense and on the flip side, the Trojans were stymied against the Patriots offense.
“I really don’t have any complaints about the way we played tonight, ” said Hopkins. “You’re always looking for things to improve on but tonight we will enjoy the victory and the dance Saturday night will be that much sweeter. This is a big rivalry game for us and it means a lot to our kids.”
Starting fast was a big thing for Hopkins.
“We’ve been talking about this all week,” Hopkins admitted. “We wanted to come out fast on both sides of the ball and we did. Our special teams were awesome and it was just one of those games where everything clicked.”
Despite having a ton of penalties, Hopkins wasn’t concerned about the miscues.
“There was a lot of raw emotions out there tonight,” Hopkins openly admitted. “It’s a big rivalry, it’s homecoming, the stands were full and these kids were full of emotions. We’ll get it cleaned up.”
With three games left on the season, the Patriots will travel to Dixie next week before coming home to host Bradford on senior night.
There’s a lot of computer points on the line and with playoffs right around the corner, every game is crucial, ” Hopkins pointed out. “You want to be playing your best football at the end of the year. We have some things to take care of.”
The Patriots are 6-1 and entered the night ranked 6th in their region.
CNO Photos by George Starks. Featured photo: Tri-Village senior Reed Wehr gets a scoop and score for a touchdown during first half action
