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Alder improves to 4-0 with 48-10 win over Panthers

Saturday, 13 September 2008

PLAIN CITY — Defense, football coaches like to say, wins championships.

While Friday night’s game at Volunteer Field did not decide any championship, it did prove that a very good defense can make for a very decisive win.

“I wouldn’t want to get too far behind with our defense,” said Jonathan Alder head coach Steve Coate, cautioning opposing offensive coaches.

But that’s exactly what happened for Miami Trace, as the Pioneers remained undefeated with an easy 48-10 defeat of the South Central Ohio League’s Panthers.

After retiring to the halftime locker room with a comfortable 21-3 lead, Alder erupted for 34 points in the third period to put the game on ice.

The third-quarter fireworks came in untraditional fashion for the Pioneers, who have been having trouble getting back on track after intermission.

But Friday night, Alder put together three scoring drives and cashed in on a defensive gem that broke the Panthers’ collective back.

“We had some good second half drives, which we’d had trouble with in our previous games,” Coate noted. “The defensive score was big. It turned things around real fast.”

Alder ran up and down the field almost at will, starting the second half with a 53-yard drive, the final four yards covered on the ground by Tayler Yutzy with 9:19 showing. Stephen Lamb tacked on the extra point for a 28-3 lead.

But when Miami Trace completed a pass on its first ensuing snap and fumbled, Logan McGuire scooped up the ball for the Pioneers and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown just 20 seconds after the previous score. Lamb’s kick put the hosts up 35-3.

The Panthers then put together their best drive of the night, highlighted by a 43-yard run by Tom Armstrong, and Ryan Garland hit paydirt from five yards out with 6:12 to go in the third quarter.

Brett Garland’s PAT kick made it a 35-10 score, but Alder still had more points to put on the scoreboard.

The Pioneers used only three plays on their next possession to find the end zone, the final 55 yards coming on a Graham Johnston pass to Danny Snively at the 4:39 mark. Lamb’s kick failed, but Alder had a 41-10 cushion.

Miami Trace had the ball for only three snaps after the touchdown before Weston Bundenthal intercepted a Caleb Redding aerial to put the Pioneers just 39 yards away from paydirt.

A methodical Alder drive milked the clock before Yutzy scampered into the end zone from two yards out with 17 seconds showing, and Lamb tacked on the extra point for what would be the final score of 48-10.

Both teams gave their reserves some playing time in the fourth quarter, as Alder improved to 4-0 and Miami Trace slipped to 2-2.

“Jonathan Alder outplayed us tonight,” Miami Trace coach Mike Bernard summed up. “We’ve got to go back and work hard to get ready for league play next week against Clinton-Massie. “We’ve just got to get better,” Bernard admitted. “We’ve got to learn from our mistakes tonight.”

Alder got on the board with its first possession of the night on a 75-yard, 12-play drive. Jason Parker hit paydirt from a yard out with 4:27 showing in the first quarter, and Lamb toed the extra point for a 7-0 edge.

After the Panthers went three-and-out on their second consecutive possession, Alder went to work on its second touchdown of the night.

Johnston provided a highlight-reel run to set up the touchdown, a 29-yard run to the 6. Johnston then found Vince Palmer alone in the end zone just three seconds into the second quarter for a scoring pass, and Lamb’s kick gave Alder all the points it would need for the win at 14-0.

Miami Trace got on the board with 4:01 left before halftime when its march from its own 39 yard line stalled, setting up Garland’s 41-yard field goal for a 14-3 count.

Alder went to work from its own 23 yard line, but needed only five plays to go the length of the field, the final 59 yards when Johnston faked the pitch on the option and raced untouched to the end zone with 2:03 to go. Lamb’s kick made it 21-3 heading into intermission.

“We started the game solid, and showed progress with our offensive line,” Coate reflected. “We got some confidence early, and got great balance from Graham Johnston, Eric Wrightsel and Tayler Yutzy.”

Alder hosts cross-county rival London next Friday at 7:30 p.m., while Miami Trace opens SCOL play at home against Clinton-Massie.