Tigers bash Blue Lions on homecoming

     GREENFIELD – Battling back from adversity after two straight losses a big turnaround in the second quarter set the tone for the remainder of the game, as the McClain Tigers defeated South Central Ohio League rival Washington 34-26 on homecoming at McClain Field, Friday night.

     The Tigers defended their turf, as it was their first home game since week one.  The momentum swing in favor of the Tigers came when Washington junior running back Patrick Wilson’s 42-yard touchdown run was called back after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by the running back (as he held out the ball out toward the Tigers) was called before he reached the end zone.

     “I wasn’t disappointed with our effort, but I was disappointed with all of our unsportsmanlike conduct penalties we had (Friday),” Washington head coach Corey Dye said. “One cost us a touchdown and it’s unacceptable.

     “We kept telling the kids it was going to bite us with all the unsportsmanlike penalties we’ve had and it finally did catch up with us.”

     The Tigers kept the momentum swing on the same drive, when three plays later on third-and-8, McClain senior Jon Johnson intercepted a pass on the MHS 23-yard line with 6:43 left in the first half.

     Taking the ball on offense, it took the Tigers 11 plays to reach the end zone, including a critical fourth down play to keep the drive alive.

     MHS pounded the ball with junior Zach Matracia at the start of the drive. Matracia had a 13-yard scamper, and Washington added 15 yards to the gain with a face mask penalty.

     Matracia then caught a 6-yard pass, then with runs by seniors Kameron Mace and Zack Mullikin, MHS was at the Washington 30-yard line.

     After three unsuccessful plays for no gain, Mace caught a 19-yard pass, on fourth-and-10, reaching the 11-yard line.

     Two plays later the Tigers came within two points of the WSHS lead (14-12) as junior quarterback Jared Loftis found Wise for an 11-yard score with 3:23 left in the second quarter. The 2-point conversion failed.

     The Blue Lions (2-1, 4-2) did come back and add to their lead near the end of the first half when junior quarterback Collin Farmer found senior Chris Blair for 13 yards and the touchdown, with 34.2 seconds remaining in the half. The PAT was no good, giving Washington a 20-12 advantage.

     In the before mentioned drive, the Blue Lions had plays of 21 and 15 yards , both on second downs. Wilson had catches of 15 and 11 yards. Cody Lindsey caught the pass of 21 yards. Wilson ended the game with 49 receiving yards on five receptions.

     The second quarter wasn’t quite over according to the Tigers.

     Gaining possession of the ball with 34.2 seconds left in the first half, MHS (1-2, 4-2) marched downfield, with Loftis connecting with senior Logan Wise on a 36-yard gain, taking the Tigers to the Washington 25-yard line with 24.8 seconds left after the reception. Wise ended the game with five catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns.

     MHS sophomore quarterback Cameron Cooper then passed for 24 yards, finding Matracia in the air, as the junior took the Tigers to the 1-yard line.

     The Tigers completed the drive on second down with Loftis pounding the ball into the end zone for the score. Cooper tied the game at 20 with a diving run into the end zone on the 2-point conversion attempt.

     “We just had an excellent team effort, all around,” McClain head coach Randy Closson said. “This is a big rivalry game for bragging rights. Both sides have a lot of community pride and the kids on both sides played hard.”

     The Tigers came out at the start of the second half and opened their bag of tricks.

     On first-and-10, the first play of the second half, Mace found Wise wide-open for a 55-yard, halfback pass for a touchdown. Sophomore Luis Rivas kicked the extra point for a 27-20 lead.

     The Tigers didn’t hold back on the ensuing drive by the Blue Lions as Wise stepped up again, this time stretching out and intercepting a pass by Farmer on the MHS 20-yard line with 10:51 left in the third quarter. Farmer finished 11 of 29 for 111 yards, with two interceptions and one touchdown.

     Later in the third quarter Washington, on fourth down, benefited from a roughing the kicker penalty to gain the first down.

     With the ball on the McClain 39-yard line, Farmer, who was getting pulled down to the ground by a host of Tigers, pitched the ball to Parks, who carried the ball 39 yards for a touchdown with 1:03 left in the quarter. The Blue Lions PAT attempt was no good, keeping the score at 27-26 in favor of MHS.

     The final score of the game came eight plays later when Matracia ran the ball up the middle of the Blue Lion defense, diving into the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown with 10:02 left in the game. Rivas made the PAT for the 34-26 lead.

     “We gave up some big plays and they caught us napping and hit us on the wheel route, Dye said. “We knew coming in the McClain defense was going to give us a hard game. Credit coach (Randy) Closson with their game plan. They (MHS) outplayed us in the second half.”

     The Tigers totaled 397 yards of offense with 210 passing and 187 yards on the ground. Cooper passed for 57 yards on three completions. Loftis had 112 yards going 6 of 9.

     “Both of our quarterbacks made good decisions and did a nice job,” Closson said.

     The Blue Lions finished with 252 total offensive yards. Parks ended the night with 133 yards on 25 carries, with two touchdowns.

     Matracia led MHS with 16 carries for 99 yards and two scores. Mullikin had 14 rushes for 48 yards. Loftis kept the ball nine times for 23 yards and one TD.

     In the first quarter Washington scored first with a 14-yard run by Parks. The converted PAT made the score 7-0.

     After a fumble recovery by McClain junior Joe Barnhart with 1:18 left in the opening quarter, the Tigers took the ball to pay dirt with Matracia diving into the end zone for the 15-yard rushing score with 11:16 left in the second quarter.

     The Blue Lions answered in the ensuing kickoff as Parks took the ball 75 yards, then turned around and pitched the ball to Wilson for the touchdown with 11:02 remaining in the first half to make the score 14-6.

     McClain will play their final road game of the year next Friday as they will face SCOL leader Clinton-Massie at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons defeated London by a score of 33-14 Friday night. Massie stands at 6-0 overall, 3-0 in SCOL.

     The Blue Lions will face non-league opponent Western Brown next Friday.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

WSHS – 7 13 6 0 – 26

MHS – 0 20 6 8 – 34