Sports
Alexander Dominates Federal Hocking 30-0, Keeping SPACER Trophy In Albany
By: Jon Chamier
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With the SPACER Trophy on the line, both Alexander coach Alex Penrod and Federal Hocking coach Craig Moore led their teams onto the field for the first time as head coaches.
When the game was over Penrod was the one leaving the field with a smile, as the Spartans trounced the Federal Hocking Lancers by a score of 30-0 in the season opener on Thursday night in Albany, giving Penrod his first career win.
The Spartans (1-0) defense dominated the Lancers, and even contributed three of the Spartans’ scores. Alexander forced a safety in the first quarter, and in the second quarter, Lukas Thompson picked off Lancers quarterback A.J. Cobb and returned it for a touchdown. Then, later in the third quarter Jacob Iseman picked up a Lancers fumble and returned it all the way for a touchdown.
After starting slowly, Alexander’s offense finally picked up the pace in the second quarter, as they kept pounding running backs Josh Barnes and Mason Chapman up the middle of the Lancers defense. With 3:05 left in the third quarter, Chapman finally broke off a big run, scampering 38 yards for a touchdown that pushed the score to 30-0.
With that touchdown, the fans got their first glimpse of the OHSAA’s new point-differential rule, and a running clock continued throughout the rest of the game.
For Alexander, Barnes and quarterback Brody McGrath led the Spartans offense on the ground, as Barnes gained 145 yards on 23 carries while McGrath had 120 yards on 15 carries. As a team, the Spartans ran the ball 53 times for 330 yards.
Federal Hocking (0-1), on the other hand, could not get the offense going at all, mustering only 35 yards of total offense in the first half. The second half was more of the same, as the Lancer receivers struggled to find space in the Spartans defense. The Lancers finished with just 114 yards of total offense on 52 plays.
Next up for Alexander is a trip to Symmes Valley next Friday, a team that finished 6-4 in 2013. Meanwhile, Federal Hocking looks to bounce back at home with a TVC-Hocking game against South Gallia next Friday as well. Both games are scheduled for a 7:30 kickoff.
'Gridiron Glory' airs every Friday night at 11:30 p.m. on WOUB. You can follow the show on Twitter @gridironglory, like the Gridiron Glory page on Facebook, and follow along on Instagram @woubsports. You can also join the conversation throughout the season by using the hashtag #GridGlory.