It was a rough night for the McClain Tigers football team Friday night as they hosted the Zane Trace Pioneers on their home field and fell with a final score of 42-7.
The lone bright spot for the Tigers was in the right at the start of the fourth quarter when they got their first and only touchdown of the night off a 53 yard run by Tritan Pitzer to make the score 28-7. But the Pioneers were able to score twice more before the end of the game to bring the final to 42-7.
The Zane Trace football team was able to score three times in the first half, getting their first score with 6:24 to go in the first quarter. this came on a to yard run. They scored again on a three yard QB sneak to bring the game to 14-0 with 6:16 to go in the second. Their final touchdown of the half came with 1:01 to go until the halftime buzzer on a one-yard run by the quarterback. The point after was no good and the game went to halftime with the Pioneers up 20-0.
To start the third, the Tigers were able to get an interception by Pitzer to stop the Zane Trace opening drive of the half. The Tigers were able to get the ball all the way to their opponents 10 yard line but came up short and turned the ball over on downs.
With 3:40 to go in the third quarter, the Tigers came up with yet another interception, but after getting sacked twice in their drive after, they were forced to punt. The punt was blocked by Zane Trace and led to a score with 6.7 seconds left in the third quarter. Zane Trace went for the two-point conversion and was successful making the score 28-0.
Zane Trace scored twice more in the fourth quarter after the Tigers were able to score to open the final frame and McClain lost 42-7.
“I don’t know if it was the fair or what,” said Head Coach Jeremey Andrews after the loss. “We didn’t play well and we didn’t coach well. We really didn’t do anything right. It’s my job to get these kids ready during the week and it’s their job to get their minds and bodies ready. Neither of us did that so there’s plenty of blame to go around for tonight.
“Zane Trace didn’t keep us offbeat tonight, us not getting off blocks and tackling kept us offbeat. They just played better than us and [Zane trace] is too good for us to be screwing around out there like that.”
The Tigers will open South Central Ohio League play next Friday when they host the Wilmington Hurricane.
Reach Robert Stegbauer at 937-393-3456 ext. 1679 or on Twitter @RStegbauer.
