Shermans use defense to breeze past Panthers

CHILLICOTHE - The Unioto Shermans trounced the Southeastern Panthers to the tune of a 42-7 win Friday night.

The Panthers’ offense struggled mightily to move the ball all night and Unioto (4-2, 2-1 SVC) got contributions all over the place to give them a gaudy win.

Unioto dominated nearly every statistical category, outgaining Southeastern 318-82 and winning the turnover battle 3-1 on their way to the victory, the fourth of the year for the Shermans.

“Our defense played lights out,” coach Jeff Metzler said. “Our defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and in some instances, created a new line of scrimmage. We played primarily a four-man front all night, and those four guys, Peyton Hill, Cameron Bryce, Zach Carey, and Nick Adkins, they played great.”

Southeastern’s first five drives ended with a three-and-out. It took the Panthers until the 6:06 mark in the third quarter to get a first down, and that came off of a late hit call.

It was nearly all defense for the entirety of the first quarter. Then, just into the second quarter, Unioto struck first.

Jamichael Beard, a late addition to the UHS roster, who ended up with 7 carries for 48 yards, capped off a 27-yard drive with a 6-yard rumble to put UHS up 7-0 and capture early momentum.

The Panthers (3-3, 0-3 SVC) hung around for the rest of the half, bottling up the Shermans offensive attack until just before halftime when Unioto’s offense woke up with a quick one-minute scoring drive.

Clay Edler finished a four-play drive with a 14-yard touchdown toss near the left hash to push the lead to 14-0 with 8.6 seconds left.

Just when it seemed that Southeastern might be figuring out how to move the ball against the Shermans, Unioto widened the gap even further when Nick Adkins picked off a Lane Ruby swing pass and took it 72 yards to the house.

“That pick-six was huge,” Metzler said. “That gave us a spark that we needed.”

It seemed to spark the Panthers as well as they found a way to move the ball on the Sherman’ defense on the next possession.

Trey Brown ran a hitch and go route, Unioto bit, and Lane Ruby hit Brown deep for a 37-yard touchdown to cut the gap to 21-7.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, they weren’t able to recapture that magic for the rest of the evening. Unioto’s offense found another gear from that point on, scoring 21 unanswered points before the clock hit double zero.

The first came on a 7-yard Dalton Poole scamper, the next on a 13-yard Edler keeper, and the last came on the ground as well, when Chris Scaggs found paydirt from 3 yards away.

With the win, Unioto is hoping to make a statement — the same statement they hope to make each week for the remainder of the season.

“We still have a reputation of being soft,” Metzler shared after the game. “Every team thinks that when they play Unioto, they’re going to play soft. We just have to show everybody in this league that we’re going to play physical.”

Edler finished 10-of-18 through the air for 106 yards and one score alongside 12 carries for 83 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Southeastern’s Lane Ruby went 4-of-11 with 44 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Trey Ivey led all receivers with five catches, 62 yards and the score. Jamarcus Carroll also had two interceptions on the evening and Mike Klinedinst led Unioto’s defense with seven tackles and a sack.

The Shermans will travel to Westfall next week for a showdown with the Mustangs while Southeastern next faces the Paint Valley Bearcats at home.