NEW MADISON – The Tri-Village Patriots ‘bend but don’t break’ defense, bolstered by an efficient and effective offense, came away with a 54-22 win over Portsmouth West in the second round of the OHSAA DVI football regional quarterfinal playoff game.
The Patriots’ defense allowed the Senators to march into their own territory three straight possessions in the first quarter, only to thwart their attempts to get into the endzone, while striking quickly to put their own points on the board
Tri-Village stopped Portsmouth’s opening drive at the 15-yard line, and just three plays later, Trey Sagester tossed one to Griffin Richards for a 51-yard scoring strike, and with an extra point from Owen Ridout, they led 7-0.
The Senators, in almost the same fashion as the first drive, got all the way to the 17-yard line but were held on downs, and it took just two runs, both by Colt Camacho, with the big one going 64 yards, to put the Patriots up 14-0 in the first quarter.
Portsmouth West for a third time threatened, but the Patriot defense held at the 7-yard line this time. Sagester and Richards would make good off the turnover on downs by hooking up for a 45-yard score, expanding their lead to 21-0 in the early part of the 2nd quarter.
Portsmouth finally punched a hole in the Patriots’ defense with 37 seconds left on a 6-yard run, then added a two-point conversion and gained some momentum heading into the break, trailing the Patriots 21-8.
Tri-Village received the ball to start the second half, bolstered by solid play up front from their offensive line. Staley Colston hit on two large chunk plays that included a 25-yard TD run to increase their lead to 27-8.
The Patriots’ defense finally stopped the Senators on their own side of the field, forcing a punt for the first time in the game.
Trey Sagester threw a pass into the flat to Griffin Richards, and he followed a couple of good blocks, then busted through a hole, racing 37 yards to push the lead to 34-8.
Portsmouth came to play as they put together another drive into Tri-Village territory and the PATS struggled to slow them down. They would score on a 7-yard run, giving them just a bit of hope, trailing 34-15 with 5:38 to play in 3rd frame.
It took all of just one minute, though, for the Patriots to squash that hope, and for the fourth time in the game, the Sagester–Richards connection added a 39-yard score, upping the lead to 40-15.
The Patriots held the Senators for the second time in the third quarter on their side of the field, forcing a second punt, and it would prove to be a backbreaker.
It was a good punt that sent Richards back, who let the ball drop instead of catching it on the fly … the bounce was high enough to allow Richards to run up, catch it like a bolt of lightning, and he was gone. Seventy-one yards later, he had his fifth TD in the game that would start the running clock, and hope was turning into despair for the Senators, who now trailed 47-15.
Portsmouth West started the fourth quarter looking to try and answer but Lathen Wehr intercepted the ball and then a few plays later Noah Finkbine burst through the middle, leaped a player on the ground and went 51 yards to cap the Tri-Village scoring at 54-15.
The Senators scored one more time late in the game on a pass play, bringing the final score to 54-22.
With the win, Tri-Village advances to the OHSAA DVI regional semifinal game that they will host next Friday at 7 pm versus Coldwater.
Coldwater earned their way with a 38-0 win at Cincinnati St. Bernard Elmwood Place.
After the game, Tri-Village coach Matt Hopkins praised Portsmouth because they came to play.
“That’s a really good football team. Their running back is tough, and he ran super hard, and those guys up front on the line were dominant and kicked our butts. I’m going to be really honest, we got lucky to get out of here with the win, because that’s a good football team,” Hopkins stated.
The Senators make the Patriots work on defense with good blocking up front and a running back who ran hard. (Dale Barger photo)
“I didn’t think we played particularly well, if we break a couple times on defense early in the game then it’s a different game. It’s stuff we talk about all the time, we didn’t play really focused or discipline football,” Hopkins noted.
“That’s going to be a huge point of emphasis about that stuff this week about, we can’t even get close to a Coldwater team if we even think about playing like that against them,” Hopkins exclaimed.
“Portsmouth gave us a tight front, took away our Inside Zone, which is something we wanted to do, again, they were big, physical, and fast up front,” Hopkins added.
The Senators managed 375 total yards of offense: 197 rushing and 178 yards passing in the game.
“Offensively our guys played really well. If there’s a bright spot, I thought it was our offensive line. Trey Sagester made the right reads our offensive backs hit the hole hard and when they tried to overplay that’s when Griff got loose and he’s a tough cover,” Hopkins added.
Tri-Village had 516 total yards of offense: 285 rushing and 231 passing. Trey Sagester 4 TDs. Griffin Richards 8 catches, 4 TDs, 195 yards receiving, and a 71-yard punt return for a score.
On the ground, Staley Colston, Colt Camacho, and Noah Finkbine each had long TD runs.
“Next week we’re going to see a little bit more complex stuff, and we’re going to have to rise to meet the challenge,” Hopkins said.
“You know, my dad always says an ugly win is always better than a pretty loss, right?”
“It’s a win, we get to move forward … but we need better focus, if we don’t play really well, it’s going to be a clock game, so we’re going to have to lock it in this week,” Hopkins concluded.
Tri-Village Cheerleaders take time to pose before the game. They will be on-hand next week as the Patriots take on Coldwaters in week 13th in the Regional Semi-Finals. (Dale Barger photo)
