PREBLE COUNTY — Eaton picked up its fourth win of the season as National Trail downed Tri-County North in an inter-county matchup. Preble Shawnee (3-5) was off this week.
National Trail (3-4) blanks Tri-County North (3-5) 21-0
Big plays on both sides of the ball led National Trail to a 21-0 win on the road over Tri-County North.
Originally scheduled for Friday night, the game was moved to Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff after weather put a stop to football in Preble County on Friday.
Trail senior Sharvezz Carter got the Blazers on the board first with a 78 yard pick six in the final minutes of the first half for a 7-0 lead.
After a scoreless third quarter, Trail found the end zone again on a 4-yard rushing touchdown by senior Dallas Smith with 7:42 to go in the game.
To put an end to things, Trail senior Jacob Ray took the ball 75 yards to the house with under two minutes remaining to give the Blazers a 21-0 lead, the eventual final score.
For the Blazers, Ray finished with 151 rushing yards on 13 carries – good for 11.6 per carry – and a rushing TD. Senior Clay Stiner accounted for 18 tackles and junior Jonathon Mcclane had 11.
Trail intercepted North six times, with sophomore Ben Browning picking off two passes and Ray, Carter, Mclane and sophomore Cayden Clark each picking off a pass as well.
For the Panthers, senior Braeden Rike led with 90 rushing yards while freshmen Jordan Foose and Hunter Gray each picked off a Trail pass.
Trail will host Twin Valley South this week as North travels to face Arcanum. Both kicks are set for 7 p.m.
Eaton (4-5) picks up big 28-6 win over Greenville
The Eagles were able to dominate the visiting Greenville Green Wave with a 28-6 win.
In the second quarter with Eaton having the ball, they were able to get on the board first with a drive capped off by a rushing TD by junior Aiden Williams, and a successful 2-point conversion, to make it 8-0.
Three punts later, the Eagles would turn the ball over on downs around Greenville’s 25-yard line, the score remaining at 8-0.
On Eaton’s next possession, a pass was intercepted by Greenville, but on Greenville’s next drive, Eaton junior Christian Reyna returned the favor with an interception of his own to close out the half.
In the second half, facing fourth-and-inches, Eaton senior Dawson Blaylock bounced outside on a quarterback sneak and took the ball 60 yards for a TD, making it 14-0 after a failed 2-point conversion.
On Greenville’s ensuing drive, the Green Wave was able to drive down and make it first-and-goal on Eaton’s 5-yard line, but the Eagles were able to turn them over on downs.
“Really proud of our guys in that situation,” Davis said.
Heading into the fourth, the Eagles were set to punt but a penalty on the Green Wave gave Eaton the ball back, and they were able to take advantage with a touchdown pass from Blaylock to senior Trevor Long and a 2-point conversion for a 22-0 lead.
“Really glad to see us execute in this situation,” Eaton coach Brad Davis said. “We haven’t always taken advantage of these types of extra possessions this season. Glad to see us get in the endzone there.”
Eaton freshman Leslie Orr intercepted Greenville on their next drive, and on Eaton’s ensuing drive, Blaylock would rush for his second touchdown of the game, making it 28-0 after a failed 2-point conversion.
A short kickoff by the Eagles would lead to a passing TD by Greenville, and the point after attempt was no good due to a bad snap, making it 28-6.
The Green Wave attempted an onside kick to get the ball back, but it went out of bounds, and Eaton was able to run the remaining four minutes off the clock to secure the win.
“Good win, but too many foolish penalties. Too many pre-snap penalties and a couple blocks in the back,” Davis said. “We can’t continue to put ourselves in bad situations. We have to play cleaner. But overall, the kids played hard and really put that team away. We did what we needed to do and I’m proud of the guys for that.”
Eaton will host Dixie this week with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Twin Valley South (1-8) falls to Bethel 26-13 in last home game
Originally scheduled for Friday night, like other county games, South’s matchup against the Bethel Bees was moved to Saturday with a 10 a.m. kickoff.
Bethel jumped out to an early lead up 13-0 just two minutes into the second quarter.
The Panthers scored to make it 13-7 at the half, and tied things up at 13 going into the fourth quarter.
Looking to win their second game of the season, South faltered in the fourth quarter as Bethel added 13 more points to make the final 26-13.
The Panthers will travel to face National Trail this week with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
