Unioto dominates at home against SVC opponent Southeastern
By: Seth Lee
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CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WOUB)– The Unioto Shermans are coming off of a loss on the road last week against Waverly. The Shermans would dominate the Southeastern Panthers 49-12.
Unioto brought the energy from the first play of the game, as Laykin Langolf returned the opening kick-off to put the Shermans up 7-0.
Southeastern would then avoid a safety on a fourth and 42 on their own one yard line. Unioto would capitalize on their preferential field position for their second possession with Levi Beam scoring on a 15 yard touchdown.
The first half was riddled with penalties for Southeastern. Accumulating multiple face masks and holding calls cut any momentum for the Panthers.
To add salt to the wound, the Panthers dropped a punt on their second drive putting Unioto inside the 30-yard line. Unioto would capitalize once again with another short touchdown drive to go up 21-0.
Southeastern would continue to struggle, and a three-and-out would cap off a lackluster first quarter. The Panthers would end with just over 50 yards and no points on the scoreboard.
Unioto Head Coach Matt Hoops emphasized the importance of special teams and it showed as Unioto would score another special teams touchdown to make it 28-0 as time expired in the first.
The second quarter was much of the same as Southeastern tried to establish the run with heavy sets but were stuffed by the Unioto front seven. Henry Vallette would find the endzone twice before the first half ended for the Shermans, but Southeastern would get on the board after a 66-yard pass from Brayden Burns to Landyn Smith to open up the Panthers scoring. The two point conversion would be fumbled and end unsuccessful to hold the score at 49-6. An interception on the goalline for the Shermans would send the game to halftime.
The second half was short and sweet with a running clock. The Panthers dominated possession with 16 minutes of offense to start the back half of the game. Unioto would hold possession for only three plays the entire second half.
The Shermans’ only drive would be plagued by a fumble deep into Southeastern territory, which eventually would lead to the Panthers scoring again, cutting into the lead to 49-12.
Unioto’s defense bent but didn’t break in a very short fourth quarter, defeating the previously undefeated Southeastern Panthers. Shermans Head Coach Matt Hoops achieved his 50th win as Head Coach, which makes him the winningest coach in school history, and just two days after his 49th birthday. Coach Hoops is also the current record holder for All-time wins in Unioto basketball history. The Shermans 3-1, will look to continue their momentum against Westfall 0-4. The Panthers 3-1 will look to get back on track against winless Paint Valley.