Tigers bulldoze Sherman-Tanks WATCH THE VIDEO
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD – Friday night at McClain Field was a tale of two halves, so to speak, for the Men of McClain.
In the first half, the offensive line opened holes for the rushing game, the offense clicked on all cylinders, and the defense pressured the Unioto Sherman-Tanks on every series. During the second half, things didn't go as smoothly for MHS, but not rocky enough to cause mass amounts of trouble, with the Tigers winning their home opener 20-6.
"The first half, the offensive line blocked well and Zach (Matracia) played hard all game. We were opening running lanes, and we looked like a football team," Closson said.
Then the McClain head coach talked about the second half.
"In the second half, our blocking fell apart, and we will show them and correct those problems when we look at the film," he said. "I don't think I've been this disappointed after a loss."
Matracia rushed for an average 7.5 yards per carry for 143 rushing on 19 carries. Most of the yards came in the 20-point first half as the senior tallied 101 yards in the half on 12 carries. Both of Matracia's touchdowns were in the second quarter.
It wasn't just Matracia who dominated in the first half, with sophomore quarterback Jordan Goble rushing for 101 yards on four carries in the first two quarters; with the second half added in, he finished the night with nine carries for 73 yards as the play of the Tigers in the final 24 minutes took away 28 yards of rushing.
"Tonight was a wake up call," Closson said. "When we watch the game film, we will see that we missed assignments and we need to find a way to fix it."
But not everything centered around the miscues of the second half as the Tigers were dominant in the second quarter, scoring 20 points in the 12-minute quarter.
The first Tiger score came on a three-play 54-yard drive that culminated with six points on a 38-yard touchdown run by Matracia with 7:19 left in the quarter. During the TD score, Matracia powered his way past the defensive line of UHS and maneuvered while following two blockers leading the way.
After the MHS defense forced a punt, the Tigers scored again with Matracia rumbling down the MHS sideline for a 24-yard touchdown. Blocking for the TD run and building a wall for Matracia were seniors Joe Barnhart, Jared Loftis and sophomore Brandon Davis with 2:51 left in the first half.
The two-point conversion was converted when Goble found Barnhart in the back of the end zone for two points.
"Jordan is getting more reps, and we expanded the playbook, allowing him to throw the ball and do some other things," Closson said.
McClain forced another punt in a three-and-out and gained possession of the ball with 1:47 left on the first half scoreboard.
On second-and-6, Goble ran away from 10 of 11 Unioto defense players, taking the ball down the MHS sideline, going all the way to the 1-yard line before being horse-collar tackled after a 66-yard run.
MHS scored on first-and-goal with Loftis taking the ball one yard up the middle for a touchdown, leaving 50.3 on the first half clock. The PAT was no good for a 20-0 lead.
With 13 seconds left in the second quarter Brandon Darlington gave the Tigers possession of the ball with an interception. Last week, Darlington forced a fumble.
In the successful first half, the Tigers started strong as kicker Luis Rivas forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, with the Tigers recovering.
But the second didn't start off with the Tigers making a big play; in fact, MHS had a turnover on downs after compiling a 10-play, 40-yard drive as they were unable to convert a fourth-and-1 at the UHS 28 yard line.
That is when the Sherman-Tanks geared up and went 66 yards for a touchdown when senior quarterback Brick Davis passed to senior Bradley Morton for their lone touchdown. UHS didn't convert the PAT attempt.
Davis finished 7 of 26 for 125 yards passing. Morton had two receptions for 68 yards.
The leading rusher for UHS was Jarrod Cyrus with eight carries for 23 yards. Cody Strange had seven rushes for 18 yards for UHS.
UHS (1-1) tried to draw a rabbit out of their hat with a fake punt attempt in the third quarter, but it was stopped almost instantly by T.J. Cox and Barnhart.
The Tigers (2-0), again, broke up the momentum of the Tanks, forcing a turnover on downs on their own 32 yard line at the 6:16 mark of the fourth. The fourth-and-10 play was stopped when Barnhart brought pressure, and Clayton Burgess broke up the ensuing pass.
But the second half stumbles of the Tigers continued on offense with a fumble on their own 45-yard line with the Tanks recovering at the 4:41 mark of the final quarter.
The momentum quickly went back to the Tigers as senior Jacob Dillon intercepted the first pass, on the first play after the fumble, near the end zone and taking the ball upfield before being knocked out of bounds on the McClain side of the field.
Overall for the Tigers, sophomore Dillon East rushed for 12 yards on seven carries. Burgess had 11 yards.
MHS will host the Paint Valley Bearcats next Friday. PV stands at 0-2 overall.
GAME NOTES: Matracia had two touchdown runs totaling 125 yards called back due to penalties … Barnhart had a sack in the first quarter … At the 2:42 mark of the second quarter, a hit by Matracia had the crowd, on both sides, on their feet … East had a 12-yard run and Burgess had a 12 yard reception in the middle of the field … UHS converted an onside kick with 5:17 left in the third after scoring their lone touchdown … Brandon Davis recovered on offensive fumble for MHS. In the same drive, MHS fumbled again, with UHS recovering the ball … MHS had nine first downs, UHS had seven … UHS totaled 72 penalty yards and MHS had 12 for 120 ... Goble was 3 of 7 for 19 yards passing.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
UHS 0 0 6 0 — 6
MHS 0 20 0 0 — 20 [[In-content Ad]]
In the first half, the offensive line opened holes for the rushing game, the offense clicked on all cylinders, and the defense pressured the Unioto Sherman-Tanks on every series. During the second half, things didn't go as smoothly for MHS, but not rocky enough to cause mass amounts of trouble, with the Tigers winning their home opener 20-6.
"The first half, the offensive line blocked well and Zach (Matracia) played hard all game. We were opening running lanes, and we looked like a football team," Closson said.
Then the McClain head coach talked about the second half.
"In the second half, our blocking fell apart, and we will show them and correct those problems when we look at the film," he said. "I don't think I've been this disappointed after a loss."
Matracia rushed for an average 7.5 yards per carry for 143 rushing on 19 carries. Most of the yards came in the 20-point first half as the senior tallied 101 yards in the half on 12 carries. Both of Matracia's touchdowns were in the second quarter.
It wasn't just Matracia who dominated in the first half, with sophomore quarterback Jordan Goble rushing for 101 yards on four carries in the first two quarters; with the second half added in, he finished the night with nine carries for 73 yards as the play of the Tigers in the final 24 minutes took away 28 yards of rushing.
"Tonight was a wake up call," Closson said. "When we watch the game film, we will see that we missed assignments and we need to find a way to fix it."
But not everything centered around the miscues of the second half as the Tigers were dominant in the second quarter, scoring 20 points in the 12-minute quarter.
The first Tiger score came on a three-play 54-yard drive that culminated with six points on a 38-yard touchdown run by Matracia with 7:19 left in the quarter. During the TD score, Matracia powered his way past the defensive line of UHS and maneuvered while following two blockers leading the way.
After the MHS defense forced a punt, the Tigers scored again with Matracia rumbling down the MHS sideline for a 24-yard touchdown. Blocking for the TD run and building a wall for Matracia were seniors Joe Barnhart, Jared Loftis and sophomore Brandon Davis with 2:51 left in the first half.
The two-point conversion was converted when Goble found Barnhart in the back of the end zone for two points.
"Jordan is getting more reps, and we expanded the playbook, allowing him to throw the ball and do some other things," Closson said.
McClain forced another punt in a three-and-out and gained possession of the ball with 1:47 left on the first half scoreboard.
On second-and-6, Goble ran away from 10 of 11 Unioto defense players, taking the ball down the MHS sideline, going all the way to the 1-yard line before being horse-collar tackled after a 66-yard run.
MHS scored on first-and-goal with Loftis taking the ball one yard up the middle for a touchdown, leaving 50.3 on the first half clock. The PAT was no good for a 20-0 lead.
With 13 seconds left in the second quarter Brandon Darlington gave the Tigers possession of the ball with an interception. Last week, Darlington forced a fumble.
In the successful first half, the Tigers started strong as kicker Luis Rivas forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, with the Tigers recovering.
But the second didn't start off with the Tigers making a big play; in fact, MHS had a turnover on downs after compiling a 10-play, 40-yard drive as they were unable to convert a fourth-and-1 at the UHS 28 yard line.
That is when the Sherman-Tanks geared up and went 66 yards for a touchdown when senior quarterback Brick Davis passed to senior Bradley Morton for their lone touchdown. UHS didn't convert the PAT attempt.
Davis finished 7 of 26 for 125 yards passing. Morton had two receptions for 68 yards.
The leading rusher for UHS was Jarrod Cyrus with eight carries for 23 yards. Cody Strange had seven rushes for 18 yards for UHS.
UHS (1-1) tried to draw a rabbit out of their hat with a fake punt attempt in the third quarter, but it was stopped almost instantly by T.J. Cox and Barnhart.
The Tigers (2-0), again, broke up the momentum of the Tanks, forcing a turnover on downs on their own 32 yard line at the 6:16 mark of the fourth. The fourth-and-10 play was stopped when Barnhart brought pressure, and Clayton Burgess broke up the ensuing pass.
But the second half stumbles of the Tigers continued on offense with a fumble on their own 45-yard line with the Tanks recovering at the 4:41 mark of the final quarter.
The momentum quickly went back to the Tigers as senior Jacob Dillon intercepted the first pass, on the first play after the fumble, near the end zone and taking the ball upfield before being knocked out of bounds on the McClain side of the field.
Overall for the Tigers, sophomore Dillon East rushed for 12 yards on seven carries. Burgess had 11 yards.
MHS will host the Paint Valley Bearcats next Friday. PV stands at 0-2 overall.
GAME NOTES: Matracia had two touchdown runs totaling 125 yards called back due to penalties … Barnhart had a sack in the first quarter … At the 2:42 mark of the second quarter, a hit by Matracia had the crowd, on both sides, on their feet … East had a 12-yard run and Burgess had a 12 yard reception in the middle of the field … UHS converted an onside kick with 5:17 left in the third after scoring their lone touchdown … Brandon Davis recovered on offensive fumble for MHS. In the same drive, MHS fumbled again, with UHS recovering the ball … MHS had nine first downs, UHS had seven … UHS totaled 72 penalty yards and MHS had 12 for 120 ... Goble was 3 of 7 for 19 yards passing.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
UHS 0 0 6 0 — 6
MHS 0 20 0 0 — 20 [[In-content Ad]]