Unioto shuts out McClain, 41-0

GREENFIELD – Quarterback Erique Hosley and the Unioto Shermans proved far too much for the McClain Tigers Friday, Sept. 5.
The Shermans scored three first-quarter touchdowns in a span of two minutes and three seconds to take a commanding 21-0 lead. Unioto tacked on another 20 points in the second frame and cruised to an easy 41-0 non-league win.
Hosley fired a 36-yard strike to Nate Thomas for the game's first score. Placekicker Nick Cozad split the uprights for the point after and a 7-0 lead at the 4:13 mark.
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Hosley intercepted a Jason Flowers pass at 3:51; then, the Sherman QB ran it into the end zone from the 14-yard line less than a minute later to make it 14-0.
McClain turned it over again when Colin Hutchinson recovered a fumble on a pitchout. Once again, Hosley converted the Tigers' turnover into Sherman points with a seven-yard TD run.
McClain, playing without co-captain Ryan Faulconer, moved the ball in the second quarter on a 2-yard run by sophomore Tristan Pitzer followed by a seven-yard gain by Alex Hollar. But the drive ended when Nate Thomas intercepted a pass for the Unioto defense.
A 47-yard touchdown run by Andrew Oyer extended the margin to 27-0 with 5:48 left in the half.
The Tigers battled back on the strength of a 42-yard run by Hollar but were forced to punt after the first down.
Unioto added two more first-half touchdowns and went into the locker room with a comfortable 41-0 lead.
With the accelerated second-half game clock due to the point differential, neither team put together much offense in the third or fourth periods.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Shermans appeared set to score again with a first-and-goal from the one. However, junior linebacker Jacob Badgley, who played a good defensive game, took down Ben Davenport for a 12-yard loss and ended the scoring opportunity.
Unofficially, Unioto had 380 yards of offense, compared to 140 yards for McClain.
Defensively, Joe Ralph, Josh Todd, Dylan Wheaton and Zach Puckett were in on multiple tackles for MHS.
Hollar had five first-half carriers for 56 yards and Zach Puckett ran for some tough inside yardage. Still, the night belonged to Unioto.
McClain (0-2) will host Zane Trace on Friday, Sept. 12 on Homecoming night in Greenfield.
Score by quarters
UHS – 21 20 00 00 – 41
MHS – 00 00 00 00 – 00