Bearcats topple Zane Trace, 41-14

If there is one word to describe the play of the Paint Valley Bearcats in Week 5, it is balanced. The Bearcats mixed their passing game and their ground attack for a second straight Scioto Valley Conference win Friday night.

The ground game saw Teagan McFadden rush for 107 yards on 10 carries, and the passing game had Anthony McFadden finish 16-for-16 through the air for 242 yards and three touchdowns.

All of that, mixed with a total of 410 yards of offense, left the Bearcats ahead of the visiting Zane Trace Pioneers for a 41-14 victory at PVHS.

"We beat a good football team," PV head coach Pete Hollon said. "Zane Trace looked good on film, and their size concerned us. For the most part, we controlled the line of scrimmage.

"Offensively, we were able to distribute the ball to quite a few players, and that was evident with our number passing and rushing."

The win by the Bearcats keeps them in first place in the SVC at 2-0 in conference play and 3-2 overall. Also with a 2-0 mark in the SVC is Westfall.

As for the Bearcats on Friday, they were held scoreless in the first quarter, but on the other hand, the Bearcat defense kept the Pioneers scoreless as well.

At halftime, PV had built a 21-7 lead.

In that second frame, Anthony McFadden found Mason McCloy for 12 yards and a touchdown. McFadden also kicked the PAT for the 7-0 lead.

That lead then went to 14 points following a 46-yard run to the end zone by Teagan McFadden and a PAT by Anthony McFadden.

Following a 1-yard TD by ZT, PV added one more score before the half, this one being a 14-yard pass to McCloy from Anthony McFadden. The PAT made it a 21-7 halftime advantage.

"The turning point of the game was with 1:37 left in the second," Hollon said. "We returned a kickoff to their 42-yard line, and we let Anthony do his thing in our two-minute offense.

"We scored with 12 seconds to go in the second and had an 80-yard scoring drive to start the third. That was a big difference in this game."

In the third, PV outscored the Pioneers, 14-0, with an 8-yard run for a TD by Teagan McFadden and a 55-yard pass-and-catch from Anthony McFadden to Tony Hatfield.

Those two TDs, along with one PAT conversion, left the host Bearcats ahead by a 34-7 score.

PV had one more touchdown left in them, with Hatfield rushing 25 yards to pay dirt in the fourth quarter. ZT added one last TD in the fourth on a 6-yard run.

The Bearcat defense kept ZT to 140 yards of offense.

As for the passing of Anthony McFadden, he not only was 16-for-16, but he made those completions for seven different receivers.

McCloy finished with six receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Hatfield had three catches for 63 yards and one receiving score.

On the defense of PV, Corey Freeman led with 14 tackles.

Neither team committed a turnover.

PV travels to Southeastern this Friday for Week 6 action.