ANSONIA — Ansonia overcame a blocked punt and an early turnover to defeat Preble Shawnee 40-8 in conference football action.
The Arrows blocked an Ansonia punt with 9:46 remaining in the first quarter and took possession at the Tigers’ 34-yard line. Ansonia’s defense held, but the Tigers fumbled after regaining possession.
Ansonia recovered a Preble Shawnee fumble with 7:08 remaining in the opening quarter and took control from there.
Cade Shellhaas scored on a 15-yard run with 21 seconds left in the first quarter. The Tigers converted the 2-point attempt to take an 8-0 lead.
“Getting a punt blocked is not a good way to start a game,” said Ansonia coach Adam Hall. “A majority of the time, you get a punt blocked, you’re going to lose the game. It was big for our guys to step up and get over the hump on that.”
Senior Jacob Schmitmeyer extended the lead with a 32-yard touchdown run with 9:41 remaining in the second quarter. He then connected with Graham Coppass on the 2-point conversion pass, giving Ansonia a 16-0 advantage.
Schmitmeyer scored again on a 10-yard run with 3:35 remaining before halftime. Another successful 2-point conversion sent the Tigers into the break leading 24-0.
“Once we got rolling, I felt like we were doing a pretty good job playing good football,” Coach Hall said. “We had three straight touchdown possessions.”
Schmitmeyer added his third rushing touchdown during the second half and later intercepted a Preble Shawnee pass with 1:18 remaining in the third quarter. The Tigers took over near their own 46-yard line with the running clock in effect.
Lander Shives scored on a 2-yard run with 5:25 remaining in the fourth quarter. Shives added the conversion run to give Ansonia a 40-0 lead.
The Tigers converted all five of their 2-point attempts.
Ansonia’s offensive line performed well despite losing three varsity linemen to injuries during the week. Jacob Hartings and Austin Tobe, two freshmen who had been playing running back, moved to the line and started against the Arrows.
“They stepped in and played very well for us tonight, and you can’t say enough about them,” said Hall. “The seniors who were around did a good job making sure they knew what to do. They stepped up and played great tonight for us, too.”
Ansonia also received contributions throughout its backfield. The Tigers’ running backs created yardage while blocking and carrying out fakes for their teammates.
“We have very good running backs,” Coach Hall said. “They all run the ball very well. The thing that maybe people don’t understand is that they all block for their teammates and fake when they’re supposed to fake. We had good blocks and good fakes from the backs.”
With Ansonia’s starters on the sideline, Preble Shawnee avoided the shutout by scoring on a 43-yard touchdown pass on the final play. The Arrows completed the 2-point conversion for the 40-8 final.
Schmitmeyer finished with three rushing touchdowns and an interception. Shellhaas and Shives each added a rushing touchdown.
“Run the clock, keep it moving and don’t give up the big play on defense,” Hall stated. “We started Week 1 slowly, and since then we’ve played decent football on defense. There are always going to be things we need to improve, but for Week 2, I think we’re going in the right direction.”
