Tuscola playoff eligible after 43-0 blowout against Fieldcrest
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By Ben Crane
The Tuscola Warrior football team grabbed their fifth win Friday night, moving to 5-3, against the Fieldcrest Falcons, 43-0.
“I still don’t think we’re close to our ceiling. Got a few more opportunities this week to climb towards it. At some point in time, the switch could flip for this group, and we could really take off. I hope it’s soon,” said head coach Andy Romine postgame.
It was the double-edged sword of Cooper Lyons and Dylan Graves in the rushing attack. Lyons had 94 yards on 10 carries while Graves had 88 yards on 12 carries.
In the passing game, Evan Vearil stepped up for the Warriors after Jon Pettry came down with a case of appendicitis and had his appendix removed. He competed 5-16 for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Romine has no thoughts on who the starting quarterback will be, but wasn’t clear on who that would be once Pettry is healthy.
“I don’t know if Pettry will be ready next week, but there’s not a quarterback controversy here. We have a starting quarterback, and right now, that’s Evan Vearil.”
Keller Beachy was perfect on the night, slotting home five of five point after attempts for the Warriors.
Parker James was the leading receiver with 54 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Graves wrapped up four tackles while Andrew Spillman had three, including a sack.
It was a slow start for the Warriors, who were stopped on fourth down to start the game. That trend continued for both teams until Tuscola showed life early in the second quarter with a touchdown, which was called back for an illegal shift.
The Warriors would be stopped on fourth down a few plays later.
After a defensive stop, Graves punched in a 14-yard touchdown to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead. After another Fieldcrest three and out gave Tuscola more momentum before Vearil threw an interception.
On fourth down, the defense held strong again, stopping the Falcons on Tuscola’s 12-yard line. After a Tuscola punt, the Falcons burnt the clock, where the Warriors headed into halftime up 7-0.
In the second half, the Warrior offense began to execute. An interception by JJ Reynolds sparked a offensive drive into the redzone before being stopped on fourth down. However, the defense continued to stuff the Fieldcrest offense, allowing another long Warrior drive resulting in another Graves rushing touchdown, this time from six yards out.
As Fieldcrest’s offense continued to struggle, they opted to go for a desperate fake punt on fourth down, which the Warriors promptly stopped. Another Vearil interception halted the Tuscola momentum for the last time before the offensive floodgates opened.
On the next Warrior drive, Tytus Hornaday scored from 15-yards out, pushing the Tuscola lead to 21-0. On the next drive, Vearil connected with James on a 45-yard bomb. After two Fieldcrest penalties on the PAT, Romine opted for Lyons to punch in a two-point conversion. Tuscola led, 29-0.
On the very next offensive play, as the Warrior defense swarmed the Falcons, Lyons broke off a 53-yard touchdown run that featured him running through multiple defenders on his way to the endzone, 36-0. Another stop later, freshman Miles McKinnie found himself under center, where he scored on a sucker punch 56-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive.
The Warrior offense scored on three straight offensive plays, pushing the lead to 43-0 before kneeling out the rest of the game.
The Warriors travel to Sacred Heart Griffin in a neutral-field bout against Illini West on Thursday.