Sports
Sheridan Downs Maysville, Stays Unblemished In MVL
By: Eric Singer
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The Sheridan Generals kept their momentum rolling with a 31-17 home victory over the Maysville Panthers on a foggy Friday night in Thornville, Ohio.
With the win, Sheridan stays unbeaten in MVL play and hands Maysville its first loss of the season.
“I told our kids before that this was the most important game of the year because it was tonight; anything else does not matter,” Sheridan head coach Paul Culver said. “We are just focused on trying to get better from week to week, and I think we are getting there. We took two steps forward, and also one step back at times, but we made progress tonight.”
The story of the game was the Generals’ defensive front, as they limited the high-powered Panthers offense to 107 yards on the ground. That includes holding Gridiron Glory Player of the Year candidates Jordan Hayes and C.J. Harris to 29 yards on 13 carries. As a team, Maysville managed a mere 8 rushing yards in the second half.
The game did not start quite the way the Generals pictured it.
On the very first offensive play of the game, Maysville’s Chase Roberts took the handoff and never looked back, scampering 68 yards to the end zone to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead.
On Sheridan’s first offensive play of the game, Chase Heath took a handoff up the middle, but fumbled the ball, giving it right back to the Panthers deep in Sheridan territory.
But the stout Sheridan defense answered the fumble, holding the Panthers to a field goal and keeping the deficit at 9-0 early in the first quarter.
When they got the ball back, the Generals began to establish the ground game that helped carry them to victory.
Sheridan ran 11 consecutive run plays to drive deep into Maysville territory. Trevor Davisson capped the drive with a powerful touchdown run from 8 yards out to slice the Panther lead to 9-6. Both teams carried the score into the half.
From that point on, it was a completely different game.
Sheridan dominated the second half on both sides of the ball, scoring 31 un-answered points. Davisson highlighted the effort with two more touchdown runs, giving him three on the night.
The Generals’ defense also got to Maysville quarterback Jacob Miller, forcing him into a few bad throws. Miller had two key interceptions that halted the Panthers’ effort to gain momentum.
“That’s what I’ve been looking for all year – stepping up to make some plays instead of sitting there pouting because we’re down, 9-0,” Culver said.
The Generals are now tied atop the MVL with defending champ Tri-Valley. Each team has a 4-0 league record.
Maysville slips back a game back in the standings at 4-1 in the league.
Sheridan next travels to Philo to take on a 5-1 (3-1 MVL) Electrics squad Friday, Oct. 11. Maysville will look to regroup at home against a winless Morgan Raiders team. Kickoff for both games is set for 7:30 p.m.