Southern Tornadoes take Lancers’ Home Opener
By: Zach Paquette
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STEWART, Ohio- Lancer fans were buzzing Friday night as Federal Hocking played host to their TVC-Hocking foe, the Southern Tornadoes, in their home opener following an emotional 28-20 win over the Hundred Hornets, their first since week 9 of the 2014 season.
The buzzing didn’t last long though. On the opening kickoff, Southern’s Trey Mcnickle fielded the ball at his own 25-yard line, weaved his way through defenders, and didn’t stop until he found the endzone. It only took 11 seconds into the game for the Lancers to find themselves trailing and they would trail the remainder of the game as Southern went on to win 31-0.
Federal Hocking’s first offensive drive of the game had a lot of promise. Donnie McCain and Ethan McCune put together a solid drive for the Lancers only for them to be forced to punt at midfield on a fourth and short. Unfortunately for the Lancers, the Tornadoes defense was stellar after that opening drive as they limited McCain to 32 yards through the air on 3-of-9 passing and 20 yards on the ground.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Lancers’ Noah Robinson was all over the field. He made touchdown-saving tackles and had an impressive interception midway through the first quarter. Overall, Robinson proved to be the glue of Federal Hocking’s defense as he held everything together.
For Southern, Gage Shuler wreaked havoc on the Lancer offense. He had two pick-six’s in the first half including a pick-six the very next play after throwing a pick of his own. Offensively, Shuler finished 5-of-9 passing for 46 yards and one interception.
Along with his opening kickoff return, Trey McNickle had a stellar performance. Every time the ball touched his hands, it felt as if he would run it in for six. McNickle finished with 192 yards on the ground and two scores both coming in the first half.
With this win, Southern improves to 2-0. They’ll return to their home in Racine next week for their home opener where they’ll take on Wahama in a TVC-Hocking matchup.
Federal Hocking falls to 1-1. Next week, the Lancers will hit the road and travel to Crown City to take on the Rebels of South Gallia in a TVC-Hocking matchup of their own. They’ll look to win their second game of the season, a feat which hasn’t been accomplished since the 2014 season.