Sports
Tri-Valley Defense Stands Strong Against Boardman
By: Matthew Stephens
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The Tri-Valley Scotties (10-1) pitched a defensive shutout against the Boardman Spartans (6-5), winning the contest 27-2.
Tri-Valley shut down the Boardman offense. The Spartans combined for 150 total yards on the evening, and they could not find their passing game. They had just four completions through 48 minutes of football.
Tri-Valley forced a three-and-out on Boardman’s first drive and foreshadowed the remainder of the game. Tri-Valley forced a three-and-out on three of Boardman’s four possessions in the first half.
Two field goals off the boot of Chase Dinan and a 3-yard Cody Collins touchdown run gave Tri-Valley a 13-0 first-half lead. That was Collins’ first of two touchdowns on the evening. He finished with 66 yards on the night.
Boardman lost their leading rusher, Mario Graziani, six minutes into the first quarter. In those six minutes, Graziani rushed for 25 yards. His replacement, Koby Adu-Poku, did not live up to Graziani’s rushing ability. He rushed for only 33 yards in 42 minutes, eight more yards than Graziani did in six minutes of play.
Tri-Valley head coach Justin Buttermore credited his team for executing its game plan.
“We forced them to do what they don’t like to do, throw the ball and run the ball outside, we didn’t allow them to run the ball vertical and that was the difference in the game,” Buttermore said.
The Scotties’ rushing attack, on the other hand, was firing on all cylinders.
The Scotties had 243 total yards rushing on the evening. Tri-Valley’s quarterback Andrew Newsom had the majority of the yards. He recorded 98 yards with his legs on just two rushes, one that totaled 88 yards on a touchdown in the second half.
“We talked all week about being really physical,” Tri-Valley head coach Justin Buttermore said. “I thought our kids came out and really mastered physicality and actually played a more physical game then they did.”
In the second half, the Scotties added to the bleeding outscoring the Spartans 14-2. The lone score for Boardman was the result of a safety with just over nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
Tri-Valley continues their playoff run next Friday, Nov. 13. when they take on the No. 1 seeded Perry Panthers (9-2) in the regional semifinal. The site is to be determined by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.