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Arcanum
junior Daniel O'Donnell runs the ball against Mississinawa
Valley Friday in the Trojans 21-6
Cross County Conference victory.
O'Donnell racked up 193 yards with two touchdowns. For the season,
he
has rushed for over 1,000 yards with 15 scores. CNO Photos by Dale
Barger
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Arcanum
struggles in road victory
O’Donnell carries team to win
By George Starks
UNION CITY- When quarterback Daniel O’Donnell employs his will on the
football field, it makes others take notice.
The Arcanum junior rushed for 193 yards on 23 carries with two
touchdowns as he led the Trojans to a 21-6 Cross County Conference
victory Friday over Mississinawa Valley.
In addition, O’Donnell topped the 1,000 yard rushing mark for the
season, having now racked up 1,074 yards on 136 carries with 15
touchdowns to his credit for a 7.9 yards per carry average on the
season.
On a night when the Hawks came to play, Powers gave his opposition
credit.
“I tip my cap to them,” said Powers. They played hard tonight. Coach
Graher (John) and the Blackhawks were ready to go tonight. They are a
well-coached team and we told our guys they are well coached and they
do things right. I think it was a combination of that and the fact we
were flat coming out of the gates for whatever the reason.”
In the opening half, the two teams battled to a 0-0 ties with the Hawks
out-gaining the 121-100 on the ground.
“I can’t figure it out,” admitted Powers. “We didn’t get anything from
them that we didn’t expect. We didn’t come out ready to play in the
first half. In the pre-game, we looked sharp and ready to go I thought.
To our credit, we came out in the second half and grinded it out.
That’s all that matters.”
Coming out to start the second half, Arcanum started the third quarter
on its own 35 yard line.
Looking at a 3rd and three from the 43, O’Donnell took the ball on an
end around to the left side and raced 57 yards for the score with 10:34
left in the frame.
“We rant the first play we put in this year and that’s our bread and
butter,” exclaimed Powers. “We ran that play 25 times in the second
half…at least. We really didn’t run anything any different. They
couldn’t stop us and we were chewing clock. At that point, I was
content with what we were doing by taking four or five yards every
play. That’s what the option does for you. You grind it and grind it,
then pop a long one.”
On defense, the Trojans shined, holding Mississinawa Valley to only 130
yards for the game.
“They stepped up tonight,” commented Powers. “We had some tough calls
go against us tonight. We persevered. We gave up a lot of yards. We
bent but we didn’t break.”
Holding a 14-0 lead with 6:52 left in the game on a three yard run by
O’Donnell, the Hawks struck back.
With the help of several penalties by the Trojans defense, Mississinawa
Valley was able to get on the board with 1:15 remaining.
Looking at a 4th and goal from the eight, MV quarterback Hunter
Coning hit Cayden Cox in the endzone for the only score of the night
for the Blackhawks.
On the very next play from scrimmage, sophomore Brandon Kinney ran to
pay dirt on a 69 yard romp for the final score of the night.
On the downside, the Trojans drew eight penalties for a total of 100
yards.
“That’s unacceptable at this point in the season,” said Powers. “We
can’t have that many penalties. We have to be more disciplined and
that’s my fault.”
Now 0-9 on the season, coach Graher had nothing but praise for his kids.
“I thought the kids and the coaches were well prepared for the game
tonight,” said Graher. “We played them tough in the first half and we
just ran out of gas. They had a couple of long runs there in the second
half and they deserve the win. That have a nice team. I told the kids
at halftime we needed to continue to do what we were doing on offense
and defense but like I said, we just ran out of steam. My kids played
well and the seniors were upbeat and positive. We were competitive and
I can’t ask for more.”
Arcanum (4-5) will finish the season at home next Friday with Bethel
while the Hawks will play the Bradford junior varsity.
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Mississinawa
Valley receiver Caydon Cox makes a catch that scored the
only touchdown for the Blackhawks.
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