Paint Valley beats McClain to hold on to ‘Battle of 41’ trophy

The Paint Valley Bearcats showed why they are one of the top teams in the Scioto Valley Conference and the area after defeating McClain Friday night, 30-7 in Greenfield in a game that was delayed an hour and 15 minutes due to the weather.

Paint Valley senior tailback Braylon Robertson scored three touchdowns to lead the Bearcats, and their standout junior quarterback Preston Fauber threw for 204 yards passing, completing 12-of-21 passes that included three touchdowns.

“Robertson is a great football player, and give Paint Valley credit, they are a really good football team,” McClain head coach Keith Penwell said after the game.

“They beat us down there last year and basically have everybody back, actually have a few more weapons this year.”

McClain’s defense played very well in the opening quarter, giving up just the one touchdown and making it really difficult for Robertson to find many holes to run through.

“Our defense came out in the first quarter and played well,” Penwell said. “That first touchdown was on me. I brought the house, and they called a good play to beat me.”

It was a 30-yard touchdown run by Robertson, which was the only score of the first period. Robertson also converted the 2-point try on a 3-yard run, making the score 8-0 Paint Valley after one quarter of play.

McClain managed just 108 yards of total offense in the game, with 50 yards coming on the ground and 58 yards through the air.

Jordan Bell was the Tigers’ “workhorse,” running the football in the absence of starting tailback Owen Sykes, who was not able to play after being injured in last week’s game.

“I’m real impressed with Jordan (Bell),” said Penwell. “He’s a workhorse and just goes out there and plays.

“He works hard and is very coachable, just a great kid to be around.”

The second quarter proved to be the difference in the game when the Bearcats lit up the scoreboard, scoring 22 unanswered points and leading 30-0 at halftime.

Most of those second-period points were the result of several big plays by Paint Valley’s potent offense. The first was a 30-yard touchdown pass from Fauber to Robertson at the 10:27 mark of the quarter.

It was set up by a great punt return by the Bearcats’ Jase Rinehart, who put the ball at the McClain 20-yard line.  

Paint Valley’s second score of the period was on a 49-yard jet sweep by junior Jeremy Cain with 5:51 left before halftime. Cain finished the game with 129 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

The Bearcats put the game away with just two seconds left on the clock on another touchdown throw and catch from Fauber to Cain. That score was set up by a fourth and 15 play when Fauber found junior Cam Cooper open for a 19-yard pass completion.

McClain’s defense continued to play hard in the third quarter and was able to hold Paint Valley scoreless with the benefit of a running clock.

Defensive leaders for MHS included Conner Frazier with five and a half tackles, while Bell, Zane Adams and Andrew Roeder each added three.

“Overall, I thought our defense played hard,” Penwell said. “They were physical and competed but played a lot of snaps on the field again tonight.

“I’ve got some young kids out there, and they’re giving it all they got.”

The Tigers finally got on the scoreboard with 6:01 left in the fourth quarter on a 6-yard touchdown run by freshman tailback Kolton Lamb.

Adams split the uprights on the extra-point kick, making it 30-7, which is how the game ended.

“Kolton (Lamb) had a nice run for us on the touchdown,” Penwell said. “He ran it up in there hard.  He’s only a freshman, and he’s going to be a really good football player for us.”

Both coaches played several of their younger players in the fourth quarter, giving them some valuable varsity experience.

McClain falls to 0-3 on the season and travels to East Clinton (0-3) next Friday, Sept. 13. Paint Valley improves to 3-0 on the year with the victory and opens SVC play Sept. 13 on the road at Southeastern (1-1 as of this article’s posting).

Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.