McClain Tigers shut out Paint Valley to keep 'Battle of 41' trophy

GREENFIELD — Using an offensive mix of the passing attack through the air and rushing the ball in key situations, plus the addition of an aggressive defense and stout special teams play, the McClain Tigers won their third consecutive game to start the season.

The win came with a prize as their 56-0 victory over the Paint Valley Bearcats earned them the “Battle of 41” trophy, as the Tigers defended their home field for the second consecutive week.

“We were pretty efficient, and Hudson (Lovett) did a great job on the underneath routes and the hitches. The receivers got open, and they are catching the football. Hudson is running the ball well, throwing the ball well,” MHS head coach Keith Penwell said. “Bentley Marsh had some big runs for us, and overall I was pretty pleased.” 

McClain junior quarterback and defensive back Hudson Lovett starred on both sides of the ball, going 12-of-16 for 175 passing yards and one touchdown, plus he rushed for 49 yards on six carries with one touchdown. Defensively, Lovett had an interception returned for a 35-yard touchdown in the second quarter, which was a big part of McClain’s 35-point halftime lead over the Bearcats.

In the 175 yards through the air, Gavin Anderson led the Tigers with two receptions for 57 yards, followed by Leiland Bond, who had four receptions for 47 yards. Hunter Peabody totaled four receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown. Bentley Marsh finished with two receptions for 34 yards. 

“Hunter had a big game too, and he had some big catches for us,” Penwell said. “Hunter is a consistent player for us. He comes out and does what he is supposed to do and does a good job at it.”

The Tigers also rushed for 179 yards as a team when Kai Cornett rushed five times for 58 yards and a touchdown. Bentley Marsh rushed for 36 yards and two touchdowns on five carries. Teammate Brady Binegar had three carries for 20 yards and a touchdown. McClain also had Cain Ackley have one carry for five yards and a touchdown. Jodeci Rickman finished with two carries for seven yards. 

Now how did the Tigers score all of their points? 

For starters, they gained possession of the ball to start the game, beginning the game-opening drive on their own 37-yard line. The drive was seven plays that included a 14-yard reception by Peabody, and later a 30-yard pass from Lovett to Marsh, taking the ball to the 11-yard line of PVHS. 

McClain scored their first touchdown on the next play of the drive when Lovett found Peabody for a touchdown with 8:21 left in the first quarter. The PAT by Ross Roman left the score 7-0. This season through three games Roman is 16-of-17 in extra-point attempts, and in Week 3 he finished 8-of-8. 

Once the Tigers regained possession of the ball following a Paint Valley punt, it took MHS five plays, including four consecutive passes, to reach paydirt. The drive started with a 20-yard pass from Lovett to Bond, then it was a 9-yard catch by Bond. 

Next was a completion of 14 yards off a reception by Peabody, and next was a pass to Anderson for a 36-yard gain. Taking the ball to the 11-yard line, a run by Marsh put the Tigers in the endzone with 2:05 left in the first quarter. A PAT by Roman made the Tigers’ lead 14-0. 

Three plays later an interception by McClain’s Binegar gave possession back to the Tigers with .41 left in the first quarter. Before the interception, the Tigers had a sack by Jayce Storts, followed by another sack by McClain’s Holden Lyons. 

It took the Tigers just one play to take a 21-point lead with Lovett rushing for a 19-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left in the first quarter, followed with the PAT by Roman. 

Following a PVHS turnover on downs and a punt by McClain, the Tigers were back celebrating in the endzone as Lovett stepped in front of the PVHS receiver, intercepted the pass and took it 30 yards to the house for six points, as the pick-6 and the ensuing Roman PAT left the Tigers in front by 28 points with 7:35 left on the second-quarter clock. 

Another Paint Valley punt gave the ball back to McClain, and they were back in the end zone a few plays later when Binegar rushed for a 5-yard score on first-and-goal. Roman’s PAT was good, leaving the Tigers in front at 35-0 when halftime arrived. 

Having the running clock to start the third quarter, MHS intercepted the first pass of the second half on the the first play of the third quarter when Binegar intercepted a PVHS pass and raced to the PV 35-yard line. Five plays later, it was Marsh rushing 11 yards to paydirt with 6:23 left in the third for six points. Roman connected with a kick through the uprights for the PAT, leaving McClain in front 42-0. 

The Tigers’ next touchdown came with 7:20 left in the fourth quarter when Ackley rushed for a 5-yard touchdown as the first-and-goal play was set up with a 31-yard run by Cornett on the previous play. The PAT was good for a 48-point Tigers lead. 

McClain’s final touchdown was an 18-yard run by Cornett with 3:19 remaining in regulation. The ensuing PAT by Roman gave MHS the 56-point lead they ended the game with. 

“We know we have a big road ahead of us coming up, and we know we need to keep getting better and better each week, and I feel like we are doing that,” Penwell said. “We are having some good practices, but it was tough this week because with the heat we were inside all week, and you can’t do all that you want to do in a practice. 

“I felt like our guys went in and were focused and did what they had to do, so kudos to them for being focused and staying with it, and not being distracted with the heat and practice times, things like that.” 

Defensive stats for the Tigers included Anderson leading with four, followed by Bryson Bihl, Binegar and Lyons with three tackles each. Ethan Fryer, Peabody and Jodeci Rickman each had two tackles. Collecting one tackle each were Marsh, Storts, Bond and Skaggs. 

“Our younger guys came in and did a good job,” Penwell said. “Kai (Cornett) came in and ran the ball hard, and Cain played a position he normally doesn’t play and he got a touchdown. Cain is a young guy, a good athlete, and we really like him. Those guys did a great job, and we are proud of them.”

McClain (3-0) will be on the road for their Week 4 non-conference game as they will be in Clinton County facing the East Clinton Astros (0-3) at 7 p.m. On Friday, East Clinton lost to Fairfield Christian Academy (1-2) by a 25-16 score. 

GAME NOTES: Paint Valley and McClain will not face each other next season, pausing the Battle of 41 rivalry game after returning four years ago. … In the four games of this current series for the traveling trophy, PVHS won the first two games played, while McClain has defeated the Bearcats the past two seasons. …  Paint Valley’s Brennen Ison rushed for 34 yards and was 10-of-21 for 83 yards passing. … PV’s Nic Boggs had three receptions for 25 yards. … Bryson Woods of PVHS had two catches for 19 yards. … Ethan Burk of PV totaled three receptions for 17 yards. … Also for PV, Carter Cammon caught one pass for 12 yards, and Carson Rickey had a catch for 10 yards. On offense, McClain had 350 total yards, while Paint Valley totaled 133 yards. 

BOX SCORE
PVHS    00 00 00 00 — 00
MHS      21 14 07 14 — 56