By GEORGE STARKS |
NEW MADISON- Tri-Village looked to send its seniors off in a big way Friday in Western Ohio Athletic Conference action.
Bradford came in looking for a miracle victory and cementing a place in the postseason.
Give the advantage to the Patriots
Tri-Village jumped out to the early lead on a five yard run by senior Reed Wehr at the 7:35 mark of the opening frame en-route to a 48-6 Western Ohio Athletic Conference victory.
It was a game that was never as close as the final score would indicate.
“The kids came out and just took it to them,” said Patriots coach Matt Hopkins. “This was senior night and we wanted our seniors to go out in style. We had a chance to run some new plays and we looked good. I’m very happy with the way we played tonight. “
While things pretty much went the Patriots way, there were a couple of times when things got a little bit crazy.
The first came on a targeting call with the second one coming later on a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Wehr.
“I really don’t understand how the officials could make either one of those calls, ” said Hopkins. “The call against Reed was ridiculous. That kid is the salt of the earth. That call actually woke us up and then we decided to play football. Reed used that as motivation and it lit a fire under him.”
With Bradford kicking off to begin the game, it was the Railroaders that looked to pull a slick one on Tri-Village.
The Roaders pulled off a successful onside kick and recovered the ball their own 48 yardline.
Even though the Patriots were caught flat footed, they were up to the take on defense stopping Bradford on three plays and forcing a punt.
“It’s amazing, ” exclaimed Hopkins. “We had just talked about the possibility of that happening before we came out of the locker room and they caught us sleeping. I was very disappointed with my guys but when you have freshman upfront like that, things are going to happen”
With one game left in the season, the Patriots will travel to National Trail next week and a showdown with the Blazers.
On the flipside, Bradford will host Arcanum next week.
With the Patriots holding down the number six spot in the rankings, Hopkins admitted his kids could use some help if they were to move up.
Hopkins may have received that help when Coldwater upended Versailles in a key Mac contest as the Tigers fell to the Cavaliers 21-14.
CNO Photos by George Starks. Featured photo: Bradford senior Landon Wills runs the ball against a very stingy T-V defense. The Patriots rolled to a 48-6 conference victory
