Zane Trace falls to Mechanicsburg after a close first half
By: Megan Hoersten
Posted on:
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WOUB) — The Zane Trace Pioneers (9-2) hosted the Mechanicsburg Indians (10-2) in round two of the OHSAA Division VI Region 24 playoffs. The Indians would take the 33-14 win and advance to the regional semifinals.
The game would start off with Mechanicsburg getting the ball and scrambling to get down the field. It would only be a minute and a half in, and the Indians would call a timeout to regain control. A few drives after this, there would be a flag called for a personal foul on Zane Trace, but it would be revoked, and the ball would stay at the line of scrimmage.
Matthew Davis had a QB keeper play that led his team to a first down. And right after that, Aidan Oneal would end up in the endzone to get the Indians on the board first roughly halfway through the first quarter.
The first drive for Zane Trace would start promising as they were marching down the field. It was short-lived after a fumble, which Zane Trace got back, but had to punt after.
At the start of the second quarter, Zane Trace’s own Mason Hartley got an interception, which would give them possession of the ball again. But it was short-lived once again after they recovered their own fumble. The Pioneers were on a fourth down and had to punt it.
Later in the second, the Indians had the ball and fumbled it, which allowed Zane Trace to recover it. This would then lead to a touchdown from a Bryson Payne pass to Hudson Williams. This would get the Pioneers on the board to tie the game at seven each. Mechanicsburg would get the ball right before half and would run out the clock.
Going into the second half, Zane Trace was quick with the ball as Brice Johnson rushed into the endzone for the Pioneers to take the lead, 14-7. Not long after, the Indians would respond with a touchdown of their own with a pass from Davis to Lucca Williams. The point-after was no good; this kept Mechanicsburg down one halfway through the third quarter.
Mark Clyburn would intercept the ball from Zane Trace, which would conclude in another Indian’s touchdown. This would be courtesy of Davis for 41 yards, and the two-point conversion was no good; this would put Mechanicsburg up 19-14 with under three minutes left of the third quarter.
The rest of the game would consist of the Mechanicsburg dominating Zane Trace and coming out with the victory. The Pioneers ended their season, while the Indians continue their run in the playoffs and will face Deer Park on Friday, Nov. 13.