Shawnee loses third straight, now 2-3

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WEST MILTON — The Preble Shawnee Arrows fell for the third straight week on Friday, Sept. 25, as the team traveled to Milton-Union. The Bulldogs shut out the Arrow offense in the first half of the 31-14 loss.

The game started off poorly for the Arrows, who gave up the first points of the game on a safety, making the score 2-0 Milton-Union.

Milton-Union added two touchdowns in the second quarter, on a two-yard run by Kaleb Rue and a 32-yard catch by Joey Swafford.

The Bulldogs led 17 -0 after the first half of play.

Any chance of an Arrow comeback ended as soon as the second half began, with Milton-Union scoring on an 85-yard kick-off return by Swafford on the opening kick.

Rue added another 12-yard touchdown run by the end of the quarter and Shawnee trailed 31- 0 entering the final frame.

Luke Lovely broke the Arrows’ scoring drought with a two-yard run in the fourth.

Trey Smith also found the end zone on a seven-yard run, to make the final score 31-14.

The Arrows actually out-gained the Bulldogs on offense, picking up 18 first downs to Milton-Union’s 14, amassing 291 yards compared to the Bulldogs 288.

The game also featured 22 penalties combined by the two teams, with each team picking up 11.

Afterward, Shawnee head coach Matt Hopkins said he thought it was a strange game. “It was a very weird game all around,” he said. “I thought we played extremely well at times, but you know, things didn’t go our way.”

Hopkins was also quick to credit his opponents’ game plan and execution. “They had a good game plan defensively,” said Hopkins, who felt they took away his teams strengths. “They double- and triple-teamed Trey all night; they took away what he does best and made it hard to throw the ball down-field, which is big part of our offense.”

As for the losing streak, Hopkins believe strength of schedule is a big part of the current streak. “We’ve played some really good teams,” Hopkins noted. “It’s not for lack of effort — our kids are trying, they are not quitting, just some plays aren’t going our way that were going are way. It’s just one of those things in sports — you have to learn to preserve. “

Next week is homecoming for the Arrows, as they host Carlisle on Friday, Oct. 2.

As much fun as homecoming can be, Hopkins said his team has to practice hard despite the distractions of the week.

“Homecoming is a lot more fun when you win on Friday night,” he noted.

By Austin Schmidt

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Reach Austin Schmidt at 937-683-4062 or on Twitter @aschmidt_RH.

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