By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

ARCANUM — The Arcanum Trojans used a big second half to win 42-6 over conference foes Mississinawa Valley underneath the Thursday night lights on September 5.

Arcanum head coach Matt Macy said after a rough first half, the team started to play better and showed they can be better than they were in the first half.

“We left a lot of touchdowns out there in the first half. Fumbled twice on the one going in. We had a lot of holding calls,” Macy said. “Our guys got to move their feet. It’s us, we just got to get better. I plan on it.”

Mississinawa Valley hung in there in the first half, but had a few players go down to injuries. Mississinawa Valley head coach Steven Trobridge said they were already down a senior offensive lineman in Levi Staver. Once that second half started, they were having to go down the depth chart again to replace some guys.

“We call it the third quarter curse. The first half we’re good, fresh. That third quarter we come out and the injury bug bit back to back to top players. We’re already thin on the offensive line and we got thinner. Hats off to Arcanum and Coach Macy,” Trobridge said.

The Blackhawks gained momentum first after stopping the Trojans on fourth down at the five-yard line. But with the offense starting their drive with their endzone just a few yards behind them, Arcanum came up with the tackle for loss to get the safety.

After returning the punt to the Mississinawa Valley 31-yard line, Arcanum got into the endzone. Freshman Hudson Knaus scored from 16 yards out on a run to put the Trojans up 9-0.

But Mississinawa Valley responded right away. Sophomore Michael Bell ran 65 yards for the score to get close to Arcanum, 9-6.

Both teams exchanged turnovers later in the first half. Arcanum sophomore Lucas Miller intercepted freshman Caleb Spradling. On the next drive from the Arcanum offense, Knaus fumbled the ball going into the endzone and was recovered by Mississinawa Valley senior Nick Ward.

Once again, the Blackhawks were backed up near their own goal line. This time, they moved the ball forward a few yards and punted.

Arcanum returned it to the Mississinawa Valley 16-yard line. Sophomore MJ Macy then scored from six yards out to give Arcanum a 16-6 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Mississinawa Valley fumbled and Arcanum recovered. But like last time, the Trojans gave it right back. MJ Macy fumbled as he was going into the endzone and the Blackhawks recovered in the endzone.

With only 28 seconds left after that play, Arcanum went into halftime only up 16-6.

Macy said the offense overall had their problems, but they are starting to click. The plays are there to be made, they just need some more reps to execute consistently.

Even through the penalties and missed plays, the offense was moving the ball well.

“I feel like I say this every year, but we’re young. I feel like I’ve said that for three years. We’re still young. It’s starting to click though,” Macy said.

The Trojans came out and played a better second half. On the first possession of the second half from Mississinawa Valley, Miller got his second interception of the game and took it 28 yards for the score.

Mississinawa Valley couldn’t get a drive going after that and went to punt. The punter dropped the ball and Arcanum recoverd on the Mississinawa Valley 35-yard line.

The Trojans took advantage of the field position as Arcanum sophomore quarterback Bishop Cartwright found senior Truman Knaus for a five-yard touchdown pass to go up 30-6 after the two point conversion was successful.

Even while down and wounded, the Blackhawks continued to fight and make some plays. Arcanum couldn’t put together an easy drive. Mississinawa Valley provided a few roadblocks in the way for them to overcome.

Trobridge said while they couldn’t find answers after the injuries, the team didn’t give up. It’s the one thing his teams always do when they play, give it their all until the time expires.

“We’re a tough, grit team. We’re not the biggest, not the fastest. But we’re a tough, grit team. If there’s one thing trying to rebuild all of this, that’s the one thing we got to get started first and we did,” Trobridge said.

Macy said he believes Trobridge is one of the better coaches in the WOAC and always has a tough team that’s going to fight every play. Even when his team was getting into a rhythm, the Blackhawks didn’t lay down.

“I think he is one of the best coaches in the league. He does a great job. They play hard, that’s the thing. They could’ve just wrapped it up. We had a bunch of big plays, running up and down the field. They just keep coming. They never give up, that’s a credit to him,” Macy said.

MJ Macy added on another score with a 40-yard touchdown to go up 36-6 with 8:13 left in the game. With the second stringers on the field to end the game, junior Wyatt Schwartz got into the endzone on a 13-yard run to give Arcanum the 42-6 win in the final seconds.

Mississinawa Valley is now 1-2 with a 1-1 WOAC record. They will host Tri-Village next on September 13 at 7 p.m. For Arcanum, they are 2-1 on the season with a 2-0 WOAC record. They will be at the defending WOAC champs in Ansonia on September 13 with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected].