Austin Harris, Contributor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — After spending the first six weeks of the season figuring out what works and what doesn’t, Huntington found its recipe for success on Friday.
CREDIT: Marissa Spradlin/SOSA
Behind a career night from quarterback Noah Potter alongisde a dominant defensive performance, the Huntsmen (1-6, 1-3 SVC) earned their first win in a 47-12 rout of Southeastern — the first victory under first year head coach Clay Beeler.
“We were 0-6 and last week, we thought we played really well,” Beeler said. “This week, we knew if we put it together, we knew we could get a result like this. The first in these kids hasn’t changed and this is all attributed to them. We coach, they play and they executed.”
Huntington used its running game to march down the field to begin the game, and after wearing down the Panthers’ defense, Potter got the night started with a 14-yard touchdown run to makie it 7-0.
Southeastern (1-6, 0-4 SVC) responded swiftly, though.
After a long kick return, it took the Panthers six plays to go 35 yards before ending in the end zone with a two-yard plunge from Joey Pfeifer, cutting the lead to 7-6.
Not to be outdone, the Huntsmen responded with a six-play drive of their own. And much like the first drive, it was Potter calling his own number and scoring from 16 yards out, pushing the lead to 15-6 following a successful two-point try.
PHOTOS: Images from Huntington’s win over Southeastern
That was where the Huntsmen put things into overdrive and didn’t look back.
Southeastern fumbled on its next drive, and who else but Potter scooped up the ball and took it all the way to the house for a 23-6 tally.
The Panthers shook off the turnover on the next drive as Pfeifer connected with Tyler Cutright on a 66-yard touchdown.
But the rest of the night belonged to Huntington.
Potter, on Huntington’s following drive, connected with Frankie Hirsch on a pitch and catch for a 70-yard touchdown, and then Morgan Breniser took a punt return 45 yards to pay dirt, making it 35-12 at halftime.
Huntington’s defense got another stop to begin the third, and the offense once again cashed in. D.J. Crocker found an opening and outran the Panthers’ defense 70 yards to the end zone. He later capped the night and the victory with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Potter.
“These guys have trusted this process from May all the way until now,” Beeler said. “Not giving up … we still have the same numbers we had, we still have 40 guys. It shows that the process that we’re putting in is correct and that the systems we have work. I’m just proud of them for sticking it out. It’s easy to quit. But our kids have shown they’re going to fight and claw.”
Statistically, Potter ended the game with 157 passing yards, 105 rushing yards and five total touchdowns. Crocker added 132 yards on the ground, 73 through the air and a pair of scores.
Huntington returns to action on Friday for SVC play at Paint Valley, while Southeastern aims to rebound at Piketon.
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