LEWISBURG – The Tri-Village Patriots defeated the home-standing Tri-County North Panthers 37-7 in WOAC action under a steady Saturday morning rain, with all five Patriots’ touchdowns coming through the air.
“I was surprised how well we threw it in the rain,” said Tri-Village coach Matt Hopkins. “That’s a credit to Trey Sagester and our receivers for practicing that all week long and not freaking out. Most quarterbacks do when they see this rain. It’s tough to throw the ball in the rain, but we did well. I was really happy with our guys.”
The Panthers moved the ball well in the first quarter only to be turned away by the Patriots’ defense which kept the game scoreless until Tri-Village quarterback Trey Sagester hit Lane Bierly with a 12-yard touchdown strike at 2:13 in the opening quarter. A Sagester to Zeke Hopkins completed a 2-point conversion pass, had the Patriots up 8-0 where the score would stand after one-quarter of play.
“North did exactly what their game plan was,” said Tri-Village coach Matt Hopkins. “They are a good running team, and we knew that going in. We were still asleep, but they woke us up because they came out and smacked us in the mouth. They took a lot of time off the clock.”
The Patriots’ defense came alive in the second quarter as Tri-Village put 24 second-quarter points on the board while shutting down the Panthers offense sending the teams to the break with the Patriots owning a 30-0 advantage setting up a second-half running clock.
Second-quarter scoring came from a 28-yard Sagester to Bierly TD strike and 2-point conversion run by Lathen Wehr (16-0); Sagester to Griffin Richards TD pass and the same duo connecting on a 2-point conversion strike (24-0); and an 88 yard touchdown drive beginning with 2:59 and ending with 0:03 on the halftime clock with a 2-yard TD strike from Sagester to Hayden Hunt. A failed conversion attempt sent the teams to the break with Tri-Village holding a commanding 30-0 lead.
With a second-half running clock and heavier rain falling, the Patriots added a 4-yard Sagester to Richards touchdown pass with 5:59 on the third-quarter clock. Freshman Colt Camacho spits the uprights out of the hold of Sagester for the PAT kick giving Tri-Village a 37-0 rain-soaked lead.
With the game in hand, Coach Hopkins kept the game respectable by playing his JV squad for the entire fourth quarter.
“We try to get those guys as much experience as possible but they were still asleep a little bit as well,” said Coach Hopkins. “I got after them because they have to be ready to go because we saw today we got a guy hurt. We’re all in next man-up mentality, so we need to be locked in, do our job, and do what we’re supposed to do, so it’s always good to get those guys in and get them some experience against older guys.”
Tri-County North accounted for the lone fourth-quarter score, with Aiden Ritchie scampering 66 yards for a touchdown with 6:15 showing. Nick Meyer made good on the PAT kick for a final 37-7 score.
