By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

ANSONIA — Ansonia Football stayed perfect in the Western Ohio Athletic Conference (WOAC) with a 52-7 win over Tri-County North on Friday at Ansonia. It was a game that could have easily been a trap game and one that was overlooked by the Tigers with Preble Shawnee coming to Ansonia next week for what could determine the WOAC championship.

Coach Adam Hall explained his philosophy of not falling into a trap. “Every week you’re playing to win the conference. If we lose this week, it messes everything up that we want to do. You’ve got to be focused on this one. The guys did a good job of doing that. And now that we’re passed it, we’re thinking about the big game next week,” he said.

Ansonia was able to rest its starters in the second half and turned it over to reserves in the third and fourth quarters. The Tigers were up 44-0 at halftime. They were able to build the lead because his team held onto the ball and was able to keep the yellow hankies off the field. Ansonia committed a couple of penalties for encroachment, but that was it.

Hall’s team is showing a lot more discipline as they head into the latter part of the season. “I don’t know that it’s been like that all year,” he said. “The guys have done a good job of being conscious about holding onto the football and minimizing penalties. I feel like anytime we struggled this year, we kind of inflicted it on ourselves and we’ve been cleaning that up and that’s what you want to see.”

The Tigers went up early. On their first drive of the game, Cainan Robinson scored on a 15-yard run. The two-point conversion was good.

Ansonia extended the lead to 22-0 after a 23-yard pass and catch from Layne Bowman to Ben Zerkle. The two-point conversion was good.

At the start of the second quarter, the Tigers struck again after Tri-County North attempted a punt but a bad snap and a turnover on downs gave them great field position. Zane Henderson took it in from the two-yard line, the two-point conversion was good and Ansonia was up 30-0.

After recovering a fumble on another Panther miscue, Ansonia started a drive at mid field. A pass to Zerkle took the ball to the 15-yard line and Lander Shives took it in from there with a 15-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers up 38-0.

The Tigers were able to get one more score in the first half when Nate Good had a nine-yard run for the score. The extra point was no good, but Ansonia was up 44-0 going into the half.

With a running clock in play, Tri-County North was able to put points on the board with a 16-yard run with 3:28 left in the third quarter. The extra point was good. The score was 44-7.

Ansonia’s final score came on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Cade Shellhaas to Luke Ressler. The two-point conversion was good to give the Tigers a 52-7 advantage over the Panthers.

The Tigers will take on Preble Shawnee next Saturday at 7 p.m. at Ansonia High School. Preble Shawnee is 8-0 and the Tigers are 7-1, but both teams are undefeated in the WOAC.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected]