CAMDEN, OH – Preble Shawnee hosted Arcanum a second time this year. The Arrows defeated Arcanum 49-13 in a week five WOAC league game. This time, the two met as first-round opponents in the first round of the OHSAA DV football playoffs.
Arcanum would make it an exciting game for two and a half quarters, but the eventual outcome was the same as their previous one, with Preble Shawnee capturing a 54-26 win.
Preble Shawnee on the opening kick-off recovered a muffed ball, then a couple of plays later senior running back Ethan Mauller blasted in from 6 yards, shocking the Trojans who had hoped to get off to a good start in the rematch and trailed 7-0.
Shawnee held Arcanum on downs near midfield on their second possession. It didn’t take long for the Arrows to capitalize as Brody Morton connected with Caleb Blankenship for a 41-yard strike, and Colton Schroeder’s extra point made it 14-0, and it looked like the game might get out of hand quickly.
Arcanum settled down by doing work on their third possession, mostly on the legs of MJ Macy. He would cap off a nine-play drive on a 3-yard plunge, closing the gap to 14-6 at 8:59 in the second quarter.
The Morton-to-Blankenship combination would prove lethal in this game, with the dynamic duo connecting on a 20-yard score, extending the gap back to 14 to lead 20-6.
Arcanum responded using the same formula off the feet of Macy, grinding to move the ball forward … but time was starting to work against them.
Sitting on the 17-yard line, facing 3rd down, freshman quarterback Weston Schmidt took to the air, throwing a nice ball to freshman receiver Raysean Miles, for what looked like a touchdown.
The reception, however, was signaled out on the backline of the endzone, and the Trojans faced a critical 4th down with 15 seconds left to play in the first half.
Schmidt threw another strike to Miles, this time in the middle seam, where he secured the catch for the TD. Schmidt then tossed a two-point conversion to Colton Quigney, giving Arcanum momentum, trailing 20-14 at the break.
Preble Shawnee wasted no time wrestling back momentum, receiving the ball to start the second half. Brody Morton, after being bottled up by the Trojans in the first half, bolted through the middle on first play for 55 yards and added the two-point conversion, doubling their lead 28-14 at 10:45 in 3rd quarter.
After establishing the run game for most of the first half, the Trojans gained confidence in their passing by finishing the half with a TD toss.
They would strike it big on their first possession in the second half on a 35-yard pass from Schmidt to junior receiver Evan Parks.
Arcanum eventually scored on the drive off a 2-yard run by Macy, narrowing the lead to 28-20 with 4:53 left in the third quarter.
It appeared this game was destined to go down to the wire … but all of that would slip away over the next couple of minutes in what would be a nightmare turn of events.
On the first play after the kick-off, the Morton to Blankenship combo connected like lightning in a bottle on a go route covering 68-yards to take the wind from Arcanum, now down 35-20.
Arcanum couldn’t afford to go down by too many, and turned the ball over on the next possession after an interception by Jacob Carter.
On the first play off the turnover, Morton, who threw just four pass completions all night, hit on the fourth toss all to Blankenship, this time a 49-yarder, expanding the lead 41-20.
Things couldn’t get worse … or could they?
Brody Morton would jump a passing route on the first play of Arcanum’s next possession, returning it 49 yards for his 6th TD of the game.
What appeared to be a promising 2nd half start by Arcanum crumbled in a span of two minutes, trailing 48-20 with 2:31 to play in the 3rd quarter.
Schmidt found Miles in the flat on their next drive, and he avoided a few tackles, taking it in for a 25-yard TD … but it would be their last score in the game, down 48-26.
Preble Shawnee added one more score from senior running back Bryson Doran, who busted through the line of scrimmage and then rumbled 51 yards for the game’s final score and a 54-26 win for the Arrows.
Statistically, the game was fairly even in total yards. Arcanum had 9 possessions and the ball for 29:21 minutes. Preble Shawnee had 8 possessions for 18:39 minutes.
Arcanum had 376 total yards with Weston Schmidt (2 TDs) throwing 195 yards, 107 to Raysean Miles (2 TDs), and MJ Macy (2 TDs) running for 132 of their 178 rushing yards.
Preble Shawnee had 412 total yards with Morton (4 TDs) passing all 178 yards to Caleb Blankenship (4 TDs), and Morton (1 TD) ran 122 yards, and Bryson Doran (1 TD) ran 100 yards.
The Arrows had zero turnovers and 4 takeaways, three in a short stretch of the 3rd quarter that proved to be the big difference in the game.
Arcanum’s season ends at 7-4 overall and third place in the WOAC at 6-3. They graduate eight seniors … but return top running back, MJ Macy, along with exciting and talented young playmakers as well, and will be considered a top league contender in 2026.
The #7 Preble Shawnee team extends their season another week and travels to #3 Indian Lake for a second-round game on Friday at 7 pm. The Arrows lost to the Lakers in their home playoff game last year and would love to return the favor this year.
