|
|
On
another historic day at Tri-Village, the first ever varsity football
home game brought on a
different look as the game ball was delivered in
a special way. The Fastrax parachute team, brought
the ball with the
American flag flying. The Patriots are now 1-0 after posting a 54-6
victory
over the Broncos. CNO Photos by George Starks
|
|
Tri-Village
gets historic football victory
Patriots run past Broncos
By George Starks
NEW MADISON- The Tri-Village football Patriots may have had to wait a
few more hours to record history but the wait was well worth it.
With lightening forcing the powers in Patriot Nation to pull the plug
Friday night, the game was played Saturday morning.
When the final second had ticked off the game clock, the scoreboard
showed it was all about Tri-Village.
Senior Johnny Wilson scored the first ever varsity touchdown, a one
yard plunge with 7:51 left in the opening quarter.
That score started a barrage of scores as Tri-Village pounded Dayton
Jefferson, 54-6 to open the 2016 football season.
With the offense and defense doing its thing, the positives outweighed
the negatives.
“There were a lot of positives,” said Pats coach Jason Schondelmyer.
“We had a lot of kids that really stepped up in their first ever
varsity game. Gavin Richards made some big plays on defense. Wilford
(Joshua) had a couple of pick sixes so I’m extremely pleased with the
guys on both sides of the ball today. Josh is a great kid and he’s a
captain for us. I’m happy for Josh. He’s a great kid.”
Even though the Patriots experienced some adversity early in the game
when Wilson was injured, forcing junior QB Trey Frech into action.
Frech did not disappoint his coach and punched the ball in from 29
yards out for a score.
“Trey came in and was a little shaky on his first couple of series but
he settled down and did a great job,” said Schondelmyer. “The big thing
about this game was getting that monkey off our backs and getting that
first win in school history. We’re very proud of the kids and the way
they played.”
When the team took the field, the nerves were quite obvious as the
anticipation of playing under the bright lights brought out the jitters.
Saturday, the jitters never came back as the Patriots were all business.
“I thought the jitters were gone and the kids played well,”
Schondelmyer pointed out. “We still have some things to clean up but we
are improving every day.”
At times, there was confusion on offense but it was another aspect that
had the attention of the Patriots coach.
“We had a lot of penalties and that needs to be addressed,” admitted
Schondelmyer. “Our kids are giving a great effort but I think they are
desperate on not finishing their blocks and jumping offsides in
anticipation of the snap of the ball. We need to correct these things
but other than that, I’m pretty pleased with the way they did.”
With both the offense and defense shining, the special teams stepped up
in a big way.
With the Patriots ready to kick off, after the initial score, the ball
went barely 10 yards, bouncing off a Jefferson defender.
The ball became live at that point and the Patriots recovered the
fumble, leading to a touchdown at the 5:51 mark on an eight yard pass
from Wilson to Richards .
At that point, the romp was on.
“We teach our kids that the ball is live after a certain point and they
should always be ready.” Said the Patriots coach. “I call these kids
the one play warriors. Some of them are out there for only the one play
on special teams and these kids shined today. This was a total team
effort and these kids realize that in football, you have to play for
one another and they are starting to buy into that.”
Now 1-0, the Patriots will hit the road to Delaware County Indiana and
a date with the Wes Del Warriors.
Wes Del (2-0) blasted Camebridge City Lincoln, 36-6.
|
|
The
team captains shake hands after the coin toss.
|
|
Senior running back Jerrod Buckley runs the ball up the field to the
goal line.
|
|
The Patriots defense chases Jefferson quarterback Thomas Herron, out of
bounds late in the game.
|
|
|
|
