VERSAILLES – The Twin Valley South Panthers came to Versailles Friday night and was greeted by a Tiger team that was looking to get off to a better start than they did the week before against fellow WOAC team National Trail.
“We were able to score on the first drive this week unlike we did last week.” Coach Ryan Jones said “Good week of preparation. Our guys played well.”
The Tigers punted their first possession against the Blazers, which was not the case against the Panthers.
The Tigers took the opening possession down the field and scored on a 16-yard pass from Connor Stonebraker to Michael Osborne. The flood gates would open as the Tigers would score 51-points in the first half and take a 51-0 lead to the locker room.
The Tigers scored on a 41-yard pass to Osborne to make it 14-0. Joel Gehret would score on a three-yard run the extra point would be blocked making it 20-0. Osborne would run the ball for a 20-yard touchdown and make it 27-0.
The Tigers pinned the Panthers back on their own three yard line on a mishandled kickoff. Mitchell Bey would block the punt and recover the ball in the end zone for a 34-0 Tiger lead. Braden Henry took an interception 34-yards on a pick six making it 41-0 with over six minutes left in the first half. The Tigers kicked a field goal after an interception by Lane Berman. Versailles had a 51-0 lead at the half and would freely substitute in the second half.
The Tigers Dominic Meyer forced a fumble on the Panthers first possession. Aaron Bowlin made it 58-0 on a 15-yard run early in the third quarter. With the clock running and the Tigers going deep into their bench the score would stay that way until the Panthers pulled out a fake punt. Lining up to punt on fourth down, the Panther punter threw a pass that was closely defended, but connected and the receiver broke to the end zone for a 62-yard touchdown.
The Tigers will drive to Wapakoneta to have a rematch against last year’s Division VII state champions Marion Local. The Flyers beat the Tigers 27-7 earlier this year. The game was 13-7 Flyers with three minutes to go before the Flyers broke the game open.
“It’s going to be a tough one.” Jones said “It’s going to be a hard week of preparation but I know our guys will do everything they have to do to get ready to play that game.”
