Miami Trace defenders Josh Jones (No. 55), Jimmy Eddlemon (No. 45) and Jake Roberts (No. 20), from left to right, zero in on the Jonathan Alder ball-carrier during the first half of Fridays 23-0 win by the Pioneers over the Panthers at Miami Trace High School.
Alder shuts out Panthers, 23-0
Chris Hoppes Sports Editor
On a night when a strong wind blew out of the north across the field at Panther Stadium, Miami Trace hosted one of the premier football programs in central Ohio, the Jonathan Alder Pioneers.
Alder won the game Friday night over the Panthers, 23-0.
In spite of graduating every starting defensive player from a team that made it all the way to the Division IV state championship game last December, the Pioneers hardley seemed to miss a beat in posting the shutout.
"They played great defense tonight," Miami Trace head coach Jeff Conroy said of the Pioneers. "We didn't do a very good job offensively. We had some shots in the first half.
"Gosh, we had a couple of (receivers) running down the middle of the field open," Conroy said. "We had the ball at the five-yard line and got a holding call.
"So, we had our chances in the first half," Conroy said. "I thought in the first half we moved the ball pretty well."
Pioneer head coach Steve Coate gave his thoughts on the 2007 edition of the Alder defense.
"Coach Blackstone, he was pretty smart all last year," Coate said. "He knew those guys were going to graduate. These guys probably practiced more last year than our starters did in getting them ready for this year.
"It's paid off," Coate said. "Our first couple of games we were a little sluggish. We came on last week really well. Obviously, we played pretty well this week.
"Most seasons start like this, where you're trying to establish your own identity," Coate said of this year's Pioneer team. "Everybody remembers the 2006 team, but the 2007 team will have its own look. It's starting to emerge.
"We have some strong players, a lot more strength on defense," Coate said. "We've got some playmakers and they're starting to make plays. A lot of young guys, the more they play, the better off they're going to be."
The Pioneers held a 7-0 lead at the end of the first half.
Neither team could muster much to speak of in the first quarter.
However, the Pioneers did get a 10-yard touchdown run by senior Luke Bates with 10.8 seconds to play in the first quarter. Stephen Lamb's kick made it 7-0. That was the only score of the first half.
Looking at some first half statistics, Alder had 69 yards rushing on 18 carries with Bates had 44 yards and the aforementioned touchdown on nine carries.
Alder's senior quarterback, Austin Schlosser, completed 4 of 10 first-half passes for 33 yards.
The Panthers had 83 yards of rushing in the first half on 23 carries. Junior Jimmy Eddlemon had 54 first-half yards on nine carries.
Senior quarterback Herbie Carson was 2 of 9 passing in the first half for 18 yards.
Miami Trace had the ball to start the third quarter. They were looking at a second down and eight from their own 31-yard line when junior Tyler Gray stepped between a pass from Carson and his receiver and picked the ball off.
The Pioneers had the ball at the Panthers' 27-yard line at the 10:28 mark.
Four plays later, senior David Smith rushed to pay dirt from 12-yards out. Lamb's kick made it 14-0, Pioneers.
After the Panthers went three and out, Alder moved the ball into Panther territory.
On a fourth down and one at the Panther 18, Alder fumbled and junior Ryan Garland recovered for Miami Trace.
Cody Beatty hit a nice punt, but Alder had a good return, all the way back to Miami Trace's 30-yard line.
The Panther defense stiffened and soon Lamb came on to attempt a 42-yard field goal. Nathan Williams blocked that attempt for the Panthers.
The Panthers could not get their offense kick-started, however and were soon punting away to the Pioneers.
With 6:34 to play in the game, Lamb attempted a 25-yard field goal that sailed just wide to the right.
Another three and out by the Panther offense had Beatty punting from deep in Panther territory. The ball was snapped over Beatty's head and rolled into the end zone. The only thing Beatty could do was kick the ball out the back of the end zone for a safety rather than risk Alder recovering for a touchdown.
The safety, coming with 6:09 to play in the game, gave Alder a 16-0 lead.
Alder got the ball back and, mixing in two pass plays with the run soon found themselves with a fourth and goal to go at the Panther one-yard line.
Bates bulled across the goal line with 50 seconds to play. Lamb's PAT made it 23-0.
"I thought our defense played well all night," Conroy said. "We just didn't help them out any (offensively).
"They played from our 50-yard line in the whole second half," Conroy said. "Our kids played hard the whole night.
"We got beat by a good football team tonight," Conroy said. "They played for a state championship last year and they brought back a lot of those kids.
"We're not connecting on all cylinders right now," Conroy said. "We're close. And when it happens, we're going to be an awfully good football team."
In the huddle after the game, Conroy quickly turned his team's focus to the SCOL race.
Miami Trace (1-3) will be at Clinton-Massie, the defending SCOL champion, next Friday night.
Massie rolled over Hillsboro in an SCOL game Friday night, 31-0.
Alder, 3-1, now faces another team from the SCOL and a Madison County rival in the London Red Raiders.
London picked up its first win of the season Friday night, 31-12 over the visiting McClain Tigers.
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