By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

LEWISBURG — The Mississinawa Valley football team couldn’t keep up with the experience of Tri-County North. On the road, the Blackhawks lost 39-28 on Oct. 18. The Panthers big plays on the ground game gave them the edge in this game.

Head coach Steven Trobridge said the youth of his team showed up in this game, especially in the second half.

“I’m proud of my guys, we fought. The score doesn’t show it. The big plays killed us and penalties. We had way too many penalties tonight. That’s going back to playing a lot of young guys,” Trobridge said.

The Blackhawks had a great start to the game. They forced a fumble on the first possession of the game. Freshman quarterback Caleb Spradling then ran in for a two-yard touchdown to go up 6-0.

But then the Panthers fought back. After a big gain on the ground, junior Aiden Ritchie scored from four yards out to tie the game. With a drive starting on the Mississinawa Valley 26-yard line, sophomore Peyton Fannin ran in for a 13 yard touchdown.

The Blackhawks were driving down the field after Spradling hit senior Leland Kauffman for a 39-yard gain to get to the Tri-County North 17-yard line. They were stopped on four plays. On the Panthers first play of their drive, Fannin ran for a 78-yard touchdown run.

In the final seconds of the first half, Spradling found Kauffman for a 24-yard touchdown. The Blackhawks were down 18-12 at halftime with them receiving the second half kickoff.

After not being able to score, the Blackhawks gave the ball back to the Panthers. Fannin went back to work with a 54-yard gain to the Mississinawa Valley 22-yard line. Fannin then scored from two yards out to go up 26-12.

Trobridge said they tried to make more adjustments as the game went on. They were switching formations between six man fronts and five man fronts on defense to keep the experienced offensive line of Tri-County North off balanced. Once the Panthers caught on to what they were doing, the experience took over.

“The first half we were coming out strong. Going into the game, the one thing I was concerned about was the unit Tri-County North has experience at. The offensive and defensive line has all seniors. They played all four years,” Trobridge said. “First half came, we made some adjustments. Once North figured out our adjustments, it was evident that experience came into play big time.”

Then as the Blackhawks were going to punt it on the next possession, they fumbled the snap and the Panthers returned it for a touchdown to go up 32-12 with 6:07 left in the third quarter.

The momentum was on the Panthers side from that point. The Blackhawks then had three straight turnovers after that play, two interceptions and a fumble.

Fannin scored on a seven-yard touchdown as that was the only damage done from the turnovers. The Panthers led 39-12 with 6:03 left in the fourth quarter.

The Blackhawks offense didn’t quit. Spradling hit junior Bryce Watson down the middle of the field for a touchdown. After getting the onside kick, Spradling threw his second touchdown pass to Kauffman for a four-yard touchdown.

The second onside try was unsuccessful as the Panther recovered and ran out the clock.

Trobridge said it was a game where the inexperience went against them, but the experience they gained from this game will help down the road.

“It’s one of those things you just bite the bullet with a young, youth team. We got a couple wins on the year so far. It showed tonight, towards the end, they keep fighting. It’s going to translate over to next year. I’m excited for that,” Trobridge said.

Mississinawa Valley is now 2-7 on the season with a 2-6 WOAC record. They end the season with a home game against Ansonia on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.

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