Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
PORTSMOUTH — Slow starts happen.
Whether it’s nerves, penalties or missed assignments that lead to negative plays, the start of every season has question marks.
Unioto (1-0) experienced all three things in its opening two drives on Thursday, leading to head coach Matt Hoops wanting to snap a clipboard or two.
“Every coach wants perfection, and I had to keep reminding myself that it’s just the first game and mistakes will happen,” Hoops said with a slight laugh. “I’m not sure in my six years that we’ve ever had a good first quarter start. We were pretty terrible for a couple possessions, but I give credit to our senior leaders for getting our guys regrouped and settling them down.”
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
Once the Shermans calmed down, exorcised their jitters and turned to the running game, there was nothing stopping them from making repeated house calls.
While racking up 218 total rushing yards on the night, they put up 21 points in the second quarter and never looked back to earn a season-opening 42-0 shutout victory over Portsmouth (0-1).
“It takes some time to get things ironed out, and eventually we were able to do that by getting our running game going,” Hoops said. “Our kids played with a short memory, and our offensive line began to gel to become a solid unit. You could see the confidence grow on their faces as the game went on, and once that happens, everyone else feels good about themselves and everything comes together.”
After those opening two series, one of which ended with an interception by Portsmouth’s Leelind Scurlock, the Shermans turned towards Cody Braden in the backfield.
Floodgates Opened
Finding some open space on the outside, he helped move the chains on the third drive and cashed in with a two-yard plunge to put Unioto ahead 7-0.
On the second play of the second quarter, following an illegal shift penalty, the Shermans went back to the air and Isaac Coy connected with Jaxon Zickafoose for a 25-yard score and a double-digit lead.
It became clear that the Trojans had no answer for how to control the line of scrimmage, and Yusef Wilson got his share of carries on the Tanks’ next drive, pacing his offense to the Trojans’ six-yard line.
That set up Braden for his second touchdown carry of the night, extending the advantage to 21-0.
“Most of those guys on the offensive line have never started a varsity game, and we’re dealing with some guys being out,” Braden said. “Those guys have been in a lot of work throughout the summer towards building that chemistry and they looked really good.”
Coy wanted to get back in on the fun on the next possession, and had some help from Brayden Harsha, who made a one-handed 32-yard catch at the two-yard line.
The junior signal caller then called his own number and took a sneak into the end zone, essentially putting the finishing touches on a victory.
“We’ve never played Portsmouth before, and with it being on the road on a Thursday night, we really needed this one to get us on task,” Unioto’s Landyn Carruth said. “Coach told us coming into the game to just focus on ourselves and not the other team. We had a great week of practice, our energy was really positive despite the early nerves and we kept each other locked in.”
Release the Swarm
While the offense handled its business, the Shermans’ defense played like it was feeding time at the zoo all night.
They had little issues getting into the backfield, batted down multiple pass attempts at the line of scrimmage and forced the Trojans into a number of three-and-out situations.
The effort on that side of the ball for 48 minutes, alongside a timely interception from Jack Winegardner, equaled out to a fifth shutout in their last nine games, dating back to last season.
“Our defense is going to be the strength of our team, and those guys did such a great job of making plays all night long,” Hoops said. “The momentum they had all night was contagious and it had a huge part in our offense getting rolling by getting us into some short fields. It was complementary football all night and that makes it hard for any team to be stopped when both sides are clicking like we were tonight.”
Stat Book
Coy finished the night 9-of-15 passing for 124 yards with three total touchdowns — two passing and one rushing — alongside a pair of interceptions.
Braden carried the ball 18 times for 92 yards and two scores, while Zickafoose, Harsha and Jack Welch each caught a touchdown pass.
Up Next
Unioto returns to action next Friday at Vinton County, while Portsmouth aims to rebound on the road against crosstown rival West.
SPONSORED BY CHILLICOTHE COMFORT HEATING & AIR
