ARCANUM – The Ansonia Tigers roared to a decisive 38-8 victory over the Arcanum Trojans in Friday night WOAC varsity football action on the Trojans’ home field.
“Give credit to Arcanum, they’re a tough team,” said Ansonia coach Adam Hall. “They made us work for it, but great job by our guys tonight, great job by our coaches — couldn’t be more pleased.”
Arcanum entered the night 7-1 overall and 6-1 in conference play, while Ansonia stood at 6-2 and 5-2 in the WOAC. The Tigers struck early, building a 16-0 first-quarter lead and extending the margin to 30-0 by halftime.
“You have to give our guys tons of credit,” Hall said. “I’ve known all year what we’re capable of as a team. We haven’t always shown that, but tonight we really played to our potential. As a football team, I am proud of them.”
With the Tigers up by 30, the second half was played under a running clock. Arcanum struggled to find rhythm offensively as mistakes piled up.
“It started snowballing on us,” said Arcanum coach Matt Macy. “We just kept making mistakes and were our own worst enemy sometimes. I thought this was our best shot to beat them in a few years, but we’re not quite there yet — that’s the bottom line.”
Ansonia added a fifth touchdown and two-point conversion in the third quarter to go up 38-0 before Arcanum finally got on the board in the fourth with a Weston Schmidt touchdown pass to Raysean Mills.
With five minutes left, the Tigers emptied their bench, giving their JV squad valuable varsity snaps.
“It’s always good when you get the young guys in,” Hall said. “That’s the experience they need, and everyone loves playing on Friday nights — it’s great when that happens.”
Carson Tobe led the way for Ansonia with two rushing touchdowns, while Lander Shives, Layne Bowman, and Cainan Robinson each added a score. The Tigers racked up 295 yards on 46 carries and didn’t attempt a pass all night.
“We got hit with the injury bug this week,” Hall noted. “We had a number of guys step in and make plays for us tonight. Our offensive and defensive lines dominated the line of scrimmage — that’s how you win football games.”
Arcanum managed 74 rushing yards on 20 carries and completed 10-of-15 passes for 114 yards.
“We have to get over this quickly,” Macy said. “We can’t let this affect us next week. Obviously, Tri-Village is going to be tough.”
Both teams now stand at 7-2 overall and 6-2 in conference play heading into the final week of the OHSAA regular season. Arcanum faces undefeated Tri-Village (9-0), while Ansonia meets Mississinawa Valley (4-5).
“We play Mississinawa next week,” Hall concluded. “We have to take care of business. They’re having a good year and will want to beat us, so we’ll need to bring our A-game — and I think our guys will do that.”
