Tigers end 5-year FAC jinx, defeat Chillicothe

The McClain Tigers ended a five-year Frontier Athletic Conference losing streak with an exciting 20-17 victory over Chillicothe Friday night.

McClain’s last FAC victory was a homecoming win over Miami Trace during the 2018 season. This is also the Tigers' first win over Chillicothe since the Frontier Athletic Conference was formed in 2013.

“I’m just ecstatic,” McClain head coach Keith Penwell said after the game. “It’s our first FAC victory [since Sept. 28, 2018], and I’m super proud of our guys.

“We knew coming in that Chillicothe was 1-5, but all of their opponents this year are all pretty good. They’ve got the toughest schedule in the league. Our seniors had never beaten Chillicothe — they’ve been close, and I’ve told them we’ve been here before, we just need to finish, and they rallied to the occasion tonight.”

Things didn’t start well for the Tigers when Chillicothe took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards on eight plays and scored the game’s first touchdown on a Shawn Smith 3-yard run. After the point was converted, it was 7-0 Cavaliers.

McClain struggled on their first offensive set and was forced to punt at the 6:15 mark of the quarter, and it didn’t look good for the Tigers defense on the Cavaliers second offensive series when they quickly moved the ball behind the strong running of Smith to the McClain 1-yard line.

But the Tiger defense stepped up big and held on three straight plays, forcing Chillicothe to kick a field goal with just 41 seconds remaining on the first-period clock. This is when the momentum started to swing the McClain way, and the Tiger faithful in attendance gave their defense a well-deserved standing ovation.

After the first quarter ended with McClain still trailing 10-0, the Tiger offense seemed to get a big spark from that incredible defensive stop and drove the ball down the field behind the running of Andrew Potts and quarterback Drake Stapleton.

Potts finished off an impressive eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, and after Seth Weller booted the PAT, the Tigers were back in it, trailing just 10-7 with 10:05 left in the second period.

The Cavaliers looked to gain back the momentum on its next offensive possession after driving down to the McClain 18-yard line, but senior defensive back Max Eikenberry intercepted a pass, ending the Chillicothe scoring threat and giving the ball back to the Tiger offense.

McClain looked like they might tie or take the lead later in the quarter when they moved the football inside the Chillicothe 20-yard line, but back-to-back quarterback sacks by the Cavalier defense ended the scoring threat by the Tigers with 1:29 remaining before halftime.

Chillicothe did get one more chance to score before halftime on a long pass to the end zone, but McClain’s Cam Medley was able to go up high and knock the ball down at the goal line as the first half came to a close.

“Chillicothe caught us off guard tonight,” said Penwell. “On film, they didn’t run this type of offense — they were spread out the whole time, zone and stretch — but today they came with three backs and an unbalanced line with some downhill running.

“We made some small adjustments defensively after the first period, and after that I thought our defense really settled in and played much better.”

McClain came out in the third quarter and used a ground control and time-consuming drive to go 85 yards in 13 plays to take the lead (13-10) on a 7-yard Kaden Penwell touchdown run.

The Tiger defense also seemed to be more energized to start the third quarter and held Chillicothe to a three-and-out on its first second-half possession. Neither team was able to move the football effectively on their next two offensive sets, and the third quarter ended with McClain leading 13-10.  

The Tigers continued to play well defensively for most of the fourth period, and their offense stepped up big midway through the quarter when they used another impressive 11-play drive to go 77 yards to score, as this time it was an unbelievable 19-yard touchdown throw and catch.

It came on a fourth-and-10 play, and it took a great throw by Stapleton and an even greater catch by Eikenberry to give the Tigers some cushion and a 20-10 advantage with 6:28 remaining in regulation.

Chillicothe came right back after the McClain score and used a couple of big plays to score on a 3-yard touchdown pass and catch, cutting the Tiger lead to just three points, 20-17, with 3:44 still remaining. But the Tiger offense stepped up at the end and ran out the clock with some ground control offense behind the running of Potts and Penwell.

“We had a lot of kids step up tonight and make some big plays,” Penwell said. “Max Eikenberry with that touchdown catch, and I thought Drake (Stapleton) was just fantastic tonight.

“Our offensive line played really well for the most part, and our entire coaching staff, both on the field and up in the press box, worked really hard tonight. Down here, up there, just a lot of communicating going on, I’m proud of everyone.

“Offensively, we mixed it up, and those guys gritted it out, and it looked like we had the ball the entire second half,” Penwell continued. “Drake (Stapleton) played a great game, and I thought Andrew (Potts) ran the ball hard along with Kaden (Penwell), who had some big first down runs and the touchdown. I’m proud of our fans, I’m proud of our community, I’m proud of our team and I’m proud of our coaches. I’m just proud of everybody.”

McClain improves to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the FAC. The Tigers will host Washington C.H. Friday, Oct. 6, as Washington lost to Hillsboro, 36-6 in Week 7.