Tigers travel 'East,' prevail in double OT
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
FRANKFORT — McClain head coach Randy Closson just smiled at his team in their postgame huddle.
That smile was a reflection of his players, who have been looking for a win for nearly a year on the gridiron. That win came Friday night as the Tigers opened their 2012 season with a double overtime 24-18 victory over the Adena Warriors at Bostic Field.
"This is a big step for us coming off the season we had last year … it's going to be important for our team to get some confidence," Closson said. "We had people step up and chip in and contribute, which was big for us.
"For us to face the adversity and for us to overcome our mistakes … for our kids to never quit, to go into double overtime and get a win on the road to open the season, it was huge. I'm proud of the kids, the coaches and the fans that we had here cheering for us. It was a great event for us."
The game had its ups and downs for the visitors, but in their two overtime periods, everything went the way of the Tigers … you could even say the right way was "East" in that of senior running back Roscoe (Dillon) East, who scored two overtime touchdowns and three for the game, including what was the game winner in the second overtime as the senior running back took the ball from the hand off, maneuvered past a defender, turned the corner and went 20 yards into the right corner end zone for the 24-18 lead.
Officially for MHS, East totaled 101 yards rushing on 16 carries, while teammate Thomas Schrader totaled 74 yards rushing on 10 carries.
"Dillon ran the ball hard, and our offensive line started to gel in the second half, picking up stunts, and Dillon took advantage of that," Closson said. "He ran exceptionally hard for us."
The Tigers stopped the Warriors in four plays in their second overtime offensive possession, including big tackles from Dylan Trefz and a 14-yard tackle for loss (on a reverse) on a third down by junior Shawn Haddox to set up a fourth down where MHS battled a last-hope pass by the Warriors down to the ground.
"Our guys decided they weren't going to quit, and we were fortunate to have a nice defense called for the reverse they ran and we were all over it," Closson said. "That was big … to pin them deep. That gave our defense the advantage."
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As for the first overtime … that was a bit more tricky for the Tigers to overcome as it was Adena who scored a touchdown on their second play of the drive with junior Cade Harper going 18 yards up the middle of the MHS defense for the score. Adena missed the PAT.
When MHS gained possession in their first overtime try, it took them just four plays to reach pay dirt as East rushed the ball four straight times for gains of four, six, seven and then tied the score at 18 with a 3-yard scamper to the end zone. The Tigers too missed the PAT.
Getting the aforementioned overtime was a bit of a puzzle as the Warriors led 6-0 at the half by using a bit of trickery in the first 24 minutes as they converted two onside kicks and forced three turnovers on the Tigers, not including two turnovers on downs.
Adena took their 6-0 lead on a drive that went 14 plays (all runs) totaling 61 yards, ending with senior Ryan Wells plowing his way to the end zone on a 2-yard carry with 47.2 left in the second quarter.
The Tigers came out of the locker room a little more energized in the third quarter, and it showed with 7:18 left in the third when East raced to an open area, went through Adena's defense, and once he got a step, there was no catching the senior as he raced 80 yards on a kickoff return (Adena kicked a 30-yard field goal) for the Tigers' first touchdown of the season.
After forcing an Adena punt, the Tigers took their first lead of 2012 when junior quarterback Thomas Schrader raced 52 yards, going from the left side of the field to the right and down the sideline for a touchdown with 2:11 in the third for a 12-9 advantage.
That lead stood until the 6:49 mark of the fourth, when Wells converted his second field goal of the game.
The Tigers were one of just three South Central Ohio League teams to win their season opener as the Clinton-Massie Falcons and Madison-Plains Golden Eagles also left the field with wins.
MHS will host the Unioto Sherman-Tanks next Friday in a non-league game at McClan Field at 7:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
At the half, the Tigers had an unofficial net offensive yardage of 64 yards … In the fourth quarter, with 6:47 left in regulation, sophomore Joe Ralph recovered an onside kick, keeping possession for the Tigers … Unofficially, each team had 38 yards passing … Adena totaled 147 yards rushing (unofficially) … AHS opened the game with an onside kick and recovered the ball … Clayton Burgess recovered a fumble on the second play from scrimmage by Adena, forcing a turnover (Burgess was later injured in the game) … The first three possessions in the game ended on three different turnovers … In regulation, there was a total of eight turnovers (including TODs).
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MHS 00 00 12 00 (06) (06) — 24
AHS 06 00 03 03 (06) (00) — 18
That smile was a reflection of his players, who have been looking for a win for nearly a year on the gridiron. That win came Friday night as the Tigers opened their 2012 season with a double overtime 24-18 victory over the Adena Warriors at Bostic Field.
"This is a big step for us coming off the season we had last year … it's going to be important for our team to get some confidence," Closson said. "We had people step up and chip in and contribute, which was big for us.
"For us to face the adversity and for us to overcome our mistakes … for our kids to never quit, to go into double overtime and get a win on the road to open the season, it was huge. I'm proud of the kids, the coaches and the fans that we had here cheering for us. It was a great event for us."
The game had its ups and downs for the visitors, but in their two overtime periods, everything went the way of the Tigers … you could even say the right way was "East" in that of senior running back Roscoe (Dillon) East, who scored two overtime touchdowns and three for the game, including what was the game winner in the second overtime as the senior running back took the ball from the hand off, maneuvered past a defender, turned the corner and went 20 yards into the right corner end zone for the 24-18 lead.
Officially for MHS, East totaled 101 yards rushing on 16 carries, while teammate Thomas Schrader totaled 74 yards rushing on 10 carries.
"Dillon ran the ball hard, and our offensive line started to gel in the second half, picking up stunts, and Dillon took advantage of that," Closson said. "He ran exceptionally hard for us."
The Tigers stopped the Warriors in four plays in their second overtime offensive possession, including big tackles from Dylan Trefz and a 14-yard tackle for loss (on a reverse) on a third down by junior Shawn Haddox to set up a fourth down where MHS battled a last-hope pass by the Warriors down to the ground.
"Our guys decided they weren't going to quit, and we were fortunate to have a nice defense called for the reverse they ran and we were all over it," Closson said. "That was big … to pin them deep. That gave our defense the advantage."
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As for the first overtime … that was a bit more tricky for the Tigers to overcome as it was Adena who scored a touchdown on their second play of the drive with junior Cade Harper going 18 yards up the middle of the MHS defense for the score. Adena missed the PAT.
When MHS gained possession in their first overtime try, it took them just four plays to reach pay dirt as East rushed the ball four straight times for gains of four, six, seven and then tied the score at 18 with a 3-yard scamper to the end zone. The Tigers too missed the PAT.
Getting the aforementioned overtime was a bit of a puzzle as the Warriors led 6-0 at the half by using a bit of trickery in the first 24 minutes as they converted two onside kicks and forced three turnovers on the Tigers, not including two turnovers on downs.
Adena took their 6-0 lead on a drive that went 14 plays (all runs) totaling 61 yards, ending with senior Ryan Wells plowing his way to the end zone on a 2-yard carry with 47.2 left in the second quarter.
The Tigers came out of the locker room a little more energized in the third quarter, and it showed with 7:18 left in the third when East raced to an open area, went through Adena's defense, and once he got a step, there was no catching the senior as he raced 80 yards on a kickoff return (Adena kicked a 30-yard field goal) for the Tigers' first touchdown of the season.
After forcing an Adena punt, the Tigers took their first lead of 2012 when junior quarterback Thomas Schrader raced 52 yards, going from the left side of the field to the right and down the sideline for a touchdown with 2:11 in the third for a 12-9 advantage.
That lead stood until the 6:49 mark of the fourth, when Wells converted his second field goal of the game.
The Tigers were one of just three South Central Ohio League teams to win their season opener as the Clinton-Massie Falcons and Madison-Plains Golden Eagles also left the field with wins.
MHS will host the Unioto Sherman-Tanks next Friday in a non-league game at McClan Field at 7:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
At the half, the Tigers had an unofficial net offensive yardage of 64 yards … In the fourth quarter, with 6:47 left in regulation, sophomore Joe Ralph recovered an onside kick, keeping possession for the Tigers … Unofficially, each team had 38 yards passing … Adena totaled 147 yards rushing (unofficially) … AHS opened the game with an onside kick and recovered the ball … Clayton Burgess recovered a fumble on the second play from scrimmage by Adena, forcing a turnover (Burgess was later injured in the game) … The first three possessions in the game ended on three different turnovers … In regulation, there was a total of eight turnovers (including TODs).
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MHS 00 00 12 00 (06) (06) — 24
AHS 06 00 03 03 (06) (00) — 18