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BAINBRIDGE — 25 years.
That’s how long it’s been since Unioto has been able to call itself an SVC football champion.
But if you ask head coach Matt Hoops, Friday’s night’s win at Paint Valley made 25 years well worth the wait.
“Now that the wait is over with, you’d like to think that this was worth that wait,” Hoops said. “But there were so many teams that came before us that had a chance to do this and just didn’t. We talked about that as a team … winning it for the guys that came before them. We’re hoping that what we did tonight makes them proud to know that they were a part of this program.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
The Shermans (8-1, 6-0 SVC) passed one of their stiffest tests this season, scoring early and often to hand the Bearcats (7-2, 5-1 SVC) a 45-7 loss — clinching at least a share of the league title and marking the program’s first crown since 1998.
“We talk a lot about being a part of something bigger than yourself,” Hoops said. “I don’t think kids understand how big that is. sometimes I’ve received several calls and texts throughout the week from former players and former teammates that I even played with, saying, ‘Go get this thing done.’ So you’re always a part of this program. That never changes. I’m just happy for every guy in our locker room. They’ve been able to put pen to paper and write their own story.”
Tale of the tape
Paint Valley actually scored first after forcing a punt to start the game.
On their second play from scrimmage, the Bearcats handed the football to Braylon Robertson, who took it 72 yards to the end zone.
But from that point on, it was all — unequivocally — Unioto.
“We’ve talked about handling adversity and tonight, we had to do that right off the bat,” Hoops said. “We had a terrible first drive and Braylon punches us in the mouth. So how are we going to handle that? Are we going to look to the right and left and let that guy beside us down? Or are we going to do our jobs? They settled down and did their jobs. That’s all we can ask from them.”
On the Shermans’ next drive, Newton Hoops found Ashton Crace for a 47-yard pickup through the air. That set up a 13-yard touchdown pass to Connor Dollison to tie the score with 6:35 left in the first quarter, making it 7-7.
Late in the first, after both teams went three-and-out, Paint Valley muffed a punt return, which allowed Unioto to set up a shop on the Bearcats’ one-yard line. On the very next play, Hoops plunged into the end zone from a yard out for a 14-7 score.
Put simply, the Shermans never looked back from that point.
PHOTOS: Images from Unioto’s win over Paint Valley
With just over nine minutes to play in the second, Hoops found his brother Blake for a first down pickup on 4th & 6 from PV’s 38-yard line. The two then hooked up again, making it 21-7, on a 26-yard touchdown toss.
Deja vu hit the Bearcats’ defense on Unioto’s next drive. After the Shermans’ defense forced a three-and-out, the Hoops duo again made its presence known as the brothers connected on a 40-yard pitch and catch, pushing the lead to 28-7 with 5:04 to play — the eventual halftime tally.
“I looked at Newton and he knew what I was doing,” Blake Hoops said of the 40-yard touchdown catch. “I was switching my route up and we just have that connection to where we each know what the other’s going to do. We just click.”
The game’s next score came with 6:22 to play in the third. That’s when Lucas Hanes nailed a 34-yard field goal attempt to make it 31-7. Exactly two minutes later, after Unioto’s defense got yet another stop, Hoops found a wide open Caden Cutright for an 11-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 38-7 and putting the running clock into effect.
Ethan Summar put an exclamation point on the victory with a 35-yard touchdown run at the 2:09 mark in the fourth, producing the night’s final.
All in all, while their offense put up a 45-spot, the Shermans’ defense played in a smothering manner, forcing three turnovers and not allowing a score throughout the final 44 minutes of game play.
“Our defense was huge tonight,” Matt Hoops said. “Our defensive staff … Ryan Rinehart, Spenser Smith, Coby Long, Bill Adkins, Mark Hoops … those guys just work their tails off coming up with game plans and putting our guys in a position to play fast and not have to think. When you can get kids to do that, you’re going to have success.”
Stat book
Hoops’ night consisted of 245 passing yards on 19-of-25 attempts alongside four touchdown tosses and an interception. Summar paced the ground game with 17 carries for 105 yards and a score while Crace hauled in four catches for 101 yards. Blake Hoops also helped out with four catches for 85 yards and two scores, and Cody Braden had four catches for 42 yards.
The Shermans’ defense was led by Will Fleck and Alexander Mills, who each had nine tackles. Marcel James also helped out with eight takedowns, three of which resulted in a loss of yardage.
What’s on tap
While Paint Valley attempts to bounce back in Week 10 at Zane Trace, Unioto will attempt to wrap up a Gold Ball season at Southeastern.
If the Shermans are to do that, it would mark the program’s first undefeated league season since 1982 and the first 7-0 mark in league play since 1981 — Unioto finished 6-0-1 in 1982.
“This win tonight probably clinched us a home playoff game,” Matt Hoops said. “So we’re thinking about Week 11 but we’re also not taking Southeastern for granted. I’ll be honest, we haven’t spent a whole lot of time focusing on anybody but ourselves. That’s not to sound arrogant. We’ve just been focusing on what we do really well, understanding the other team’s strength and making sure we’re where we’re supposed to be. The chips will then fall where they may.”
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