Unioto stay undefeated with shutout win over Zane Trace
By: Rylee Drees
Posted on:
UNIOTO, Ohio (WOUB) – The Zane Trace Pioneers came into Unioto High School to take on the Shermans Friday night. Both teams came into the game undefeated in SVC conference play and looked to extend their streaks in this one. Unioto is the reigning conference champion for the second year in a row and was looking to extend that streak with an important win at home against the Pioneers, which they would get, winning it 19-0.
Unioto would win the coin toss to start things off, choosing to defer, giving the Pioneers the ball to start. After a couple of short runs, Zane Trace QB Gunner McCollough fumbled the handoff, and Unioto jumped on it for a turnover to start the game.
The turnover ultimately wouldn’t lead to anything, though, as Unioto went three-and-out on the drive and turned it over on downs at their own 28, where Zane Trace would take over. From there, Zane Trace would lead an over 10-minute drive, which ran out the rest of the first quarter. And after the long 80-yard drive, they would ultimately be forced to settle for a field goal, which junior kicker Caleb Skaggs would miss barely to the right and off the goal post, and it would remain scoreless with 10 minutes to go in the first half.
Zane Trace would then take over at its own 20-yard line, where a big run from senior RB Cody Braden would get the team all the way to midfield. From there, another 23-yard pass and reception to senior RB David Long got Unioto to the red zone. Unioto QB Isaac Coy stepped back and fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Zickafoose in the corner of the end zone to get the first points on the board for the Shermans. The PAT would be good as well, and Unioto would have a 7-0 lead with six-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half.
The rest of the first half would see a couple of short drives from both teams. Ultimately, no one would come away with any points, and a sack on Coy would end the half, the score still 7-0 Unioto.
Unioto would get the ball to start the second half, but on the kickoff, Unioto muffed it near midfield, and Zane Trace would be able to jump on it to give them possession to start the second half. However, this success would be short-lived as they would go four-and-out on the drive and turn it over on downs to the Shermans.
From there, Unioto would take over at its own 25, and Coy fired one to Long once again for a 22-yard pass, and Unioto would be all the way up to Midfield. A couple more first-down passes got them up to the 14, where Coy pump faked and then fired one again to the back left corner of the end zone to Zickafoose for his second touchdown catch of the night. Their extra point would be blocked, and the score with the minutes left in the third quarter stayed 13-0.
Another Zane Trace drive would end in a three-and-out, and they would be forced to punt it away. Unioto would initially be stopped on a three-and-out as well, but on its punt, a running into the kicker penalty would give them a free 5 yards and a first down. From there, they would get a couple of big runs to move it to the 24. Cody Braden would then break a tackle and take it those 24 yards to the end zone. They would try a 2-point conversion, which was no good, and the score with 9 minutes to go.
Unioto continued to control the game on defense and run out the clock on offense. They ultimately extended their undefeated streak to seven games. The final score was 19-0, and the Shermans now sit comfortably on top of the SVC, clinching it if they can win the rest of their conference games.