NEW MADISON – Tri-Village hosted Northeastern in junior varsity football action Saturday morning and came away with a 54-34 victory from the Indiana school.
The Patriots jumped on the Knights on a quarterback keeper from Jonny Wilson to go up 6-0.
On the next possessions TV’s Jared Buckley took a pitch from Wilson but lost the handle. However, a very fortunate bounce ended back in Buckley’s hands, and he raced up the sideline for a 58-yard touchdown.
Wilson tossed a pass to Austin Bruner for the two-point conversion, and TV went up 14-0.
Northeastern finally put together a drive on its next possession and scored on a 9-yard sweep to close the gap to 14-6 with 58 seconds to go in the first quarter.
Tri-Village’s offensive prowess continued as Noah Burns got in the act, hauling in a 9-yard pass from Wilson to put the Patriots up 20-6.
The Patriots continued to roll. Again it was Buckley who rumbled 67 yards as the Knights couldn’t find a way to wrestle him to the ground. The Patriots went up 28-6.
Northeastern got a little luck of its own when a tipped ball hung in the air and fortuitous Knight snatched it and advanced to the end zone with 55 seconds to go in the first half to make the score 28-12.
But there was just enough time for the Patriots to answer the Knights.
Burns hauled in a short pass from Wilson and then weaved a little magic, going 40 yards to put the Patriots in scoring position.
Buckley again finished the drive with eight seconds to go on an 8-yard run, and the Patriots enjoyed a 34-12 halftime advantage.
The lead Tri-Village built in the first half turned out to be enough as the two teams played even in the second half with Tri-Village earning a 54-34 win.
The Patriots will play the final game of the year when they host Arcanum at 10 a.m. Saturday.
