Ansonia goes to 4-0 with win over Trojans

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By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

ANSONIA – On a night when Ansonia honored its legendary coach, the Tigers played a legendary game against one of their biggest rivals. On the newly renamed Coach Eugene Hoening Field at Tiger Stadium, Ansonia outscored Arcanum 53-6 to go to 4-0 on the season.

Ansonia Head Coach Adam Hall commented on renaming the football field, “No one deserves it more than Coach Hoening. No one has given more to Ansonia than Coach Hoening. He’s a great football coach and we benefit from having him on our team. Our guys love having him on our team. He’s great for us. He’s great for me. As good of a football coach as he is, he’s a better person.

Even though his team got beat, a part of Arcanum Head Coach Matt Macy had to be proud of the team he coached a season ago and what they were able to accomplish against his Trojans. His current team put their heart and soul into the game and the Coach Hall took notice. “First of all, give credit to Arcanum. They came in and played hard the whole way, I thought. They really committed to making us get out of what we wanted to do there for a while.

It did seem like the Tigers were puzzled for the first half of the first quarter, but the Tigers were resilient and started to find a way to move the ball. Hall said, “We were able to get outside a little bit and throw it a little bit and really open it and do more than what we had this year. It’s a testament to our guys that we’re able to that and have that available to us. “

In the fourth straight game, it was a shared load for all the Tiger’s skill players. Exzaviar Moody, Garrett Stammen, Keegan Weis and Ian Schmitmeyer all contributed. Hall said, “We got a very good performance from our quarterback Ian Schmitmeyer. He threw it as well as he’s thrown it…probably ever. He runs the offense very well. He’s a great leader. He’s a great kid. Exzavier Moody had a heck of a night again running the ball. Exzavier Moody is a heck of a football player.” Hall understands that they wouldn’t be able to do what they do with the big guys up front. “Anytime we have success running or success offensively it’s the big guys up front. This week our center, Levi Gasper played very well, and they all did.” He made sure he mentioned everyone on the front line – Jason Stover, Eyan Hackler, Jared Schmitmeyer, Landin Hiatt, and tight ends Trevor Hemmerich, Ethan Reichart, and Stammen.

Moody got the scoring started for the Tigers with a 57-yard touchdown run with 2:46 left in the first quarter. A couple of penalties on the extra point attempt meant Ansonia needed to go 18 yards to get the two points, which they were able to do on a pass from Schmitmeyer to Stammen to go up 8-0. Moody added a 65-yard touchdown run with 9:01 left in the first half. The two-point conversion was good and the Tigers were up 16-0.

Three minutes later, it was Ansonia heading to the endzone again; this time on a pitch to Keegan Weiss who threw 23 yards to Moody for his third score of the night. The extra point was good and Ansonia was up 24-0.

The defense added points on Arcanum’s next possession. Landyn Bowman picked off Garret Garno and ran it back 35 yards for the score. The extra point was good and the Tigers were up 32-0 with just under five minutes left in the half.

After a punt left Arcanum at their own one-yard line, a bad snap gave the Tigers two more points when the ball went out of the endzone. Ansonia was up 34-0 with 1:21 left in the half. The Tigers scored with 22 seconds remaining in the half on a pass from Schmitmeyer to Trendon Spence. The extra point was no good and Ansonia went into the half with a 40-0 lead.

The final score for the Tiger’s first-string offense came with 5:28 left in the third quarter. Stammen took it on a four-yard run. The extra point was no good and Ansonia was up 46-0.

On the strength of Garno’s running, the Trojans got on the board with 9:33 left in the game. The two-point conversion attempt was no good, but Ansonia was up 46-6.

For the majority of the second half, it was the Ansonia second-string on the field. They were able to get points on a 12-yard run from Brayden Drees. The extra point was good and the score was 53-6.

Ansonia is now looking toward their next game. A big conference matchup with Tri-Village. “We’ve got a tough one next week with Tri-Village. They’re at the top of the league with anyone else that’s up there. It will be a challenge for us and we’ve got to prepare and we’ve got to bring our A game,” he said.

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

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