BROOKVILLE – The weather was cloudy and overcast with a hint of rain in the air, but the Trojans were reined in by the opportunistic Division V Brookville squad, 39-0 on Saturday morning.
Brookville moved to 2-0 this preseason with both wins coming against Darke County foes, while Arcanum leveled its record to 1-1 with their one win coming against Twin Valley South this past week.
A crowd of about 200 witnessed this annual scrimmage on Saturday morning near the banks of the mighty Wolfcreek River. One variance of this scrimmage tilt was after a series of 10 plays the teams ran a series of five plays before going to first and 10 for two quarters with clock implementation.
Arcanum had the honors with its first series of 10 and started off with a line plunge for four yards to get some pads popping. Some eyes popped open when the Trojans gained 10 off tackle on their third play and their seventh play garnered 20. This litany of plays lit up the Trojan faithful as Schondelmyer’s squad got to the Blue Devils 30-yard line. However the next three plays only got them four yards and they gave up the ball at the Devil 26.
The ball for Brookville was set back on the 30 of Arcanum and the first play for the Devils ended up like a lightning bolt from the dark clouds that were surrounding the field. The Brookville player surveyed the scene from off tackle and found pay dirt 70 yards down the left sideline for a quick score to go up 6-0. The kick was good and it was a quick 7-0 for the host Devils from Montgomery County. Their second play was a sweep for 20 yards, and their fifth play was a pass down the middle to the 23 of the orange and black. The seventh play was not a lucky seven for Arcanum’s young men as Brookville went to the air and connected for a 21-yard pass to the left corner of the end zone. The extra point was good and the score rose to 14-0 for the blue and white of Darke County native Mike Hetrick. Brookville gained only 20 yards on their next three plays as Arcanum’s defense stiffened at the midfield stripe.
Arcanum’s varsity squad had just five plays to hit pay dirt and cross the goal line. Arcanum’s first play was their best play of the series and crossed up the Devils with an 8-yarder off tackle to get to their own 38. The Trojans did get to the 43 before a quarterback sack thwarted their efforts. Brookville’s five plays were highlighted by a run up the middle to solve the defensive riddle on their third play for a nifty 9-yard gain. However, the Trojans defense rose up and sacked the quarterback for a 7-yard loss as the Arcanum fan base cheered on. The last play of five was for three yards to the 38 and the junior varsity got some reps for a while.
Arcanum’s younger men on the gridiron used gritty plays and managed to get into Blue Devil territory. They amassed a total of 27 yards during the series before turning the ball over on downs at the Devil 43-yard line. The biggest play for the Trojans was a run up the middle for seven yards. Brookville’s junior varsity squad was juiced up like the tomatoes growing on Orchard Street as they orchestrated a drive for six. This occurred on the seventh play as they completed a pass in the end zone to make the count read 20-0. There was no PAT attempted and the score remained unaltered at 20 to zip. Brookville did threaten again, but at the 15-yard line Arcanum intercepted an aerial attempt to stop the drive on the 10th play.
The varsity came back out and the series switched to game like conditions with a format of first and 10. Arcanum progressed the ball to their own 38 where they were halted by a bevy of tacklers short of the sticks. Brookville took over from there as the Trojans elected to go for it on fourth down. Brookville went off tackle to the 30 for a first down; then found the same gap again to hit the 15-yard stripe. Two plays later, the Devils crossed the goal line to make the scoreboard tilt to 26-0. The kick again was true blue and the count read 27-0 for the blue and white contingent.
Schondelmyer’s top group got a total of six yards in three plays and executed their first punt that boomed to the 33 of Brookville. The Devils undaunted helped put the scrimmage away with a long pass down the middle to the 38 of Trojan land. On second and five the Devils broke an isolation play for 19 yards down to the 14 of Trojan territory. The very next play saw the Devils aerial assault in plain view as they saw the valley of the goal line to make the mammoth scoreboard read 33-0. The extra point kick went wide left with a hefty rush from the orange and black to make the count stay at 33-0.
The second quarter of first and 10 plays proved to be a stalemate as neither squad could end up in touchdown land. Brookville got as close as the 24-yard line of Trojan territory but were denied advancement any further as play concluded for the top groups.
The junior varsity squads had one last series of 10 plays for all to view in this one hour and 43 minute scrimmage. On play number 10 Arcanum’s junior squad completed a long bomb to the 13-yard line of Brookville. The Blue Devils then took over and broke the bank on their 10th play to score and close out the scrimmage at 39-0. Both teams came out of the game healthy but hungry as they headed to the Devil’s Den for postgame eats.
”We have a long way to go as we must play harder, lower and tougher before our final scrimmage at Milton-Union this Friday night,” Schondelmyer said. “Our third and one’s just killed us as we beat ourselves by not getting to the hole. On the positive side, our junior varsity kids moved the ball well and no one gave up series after series.
“The preseason schedule is a challenge for our kids as we must compete at a high level and not hang our heads,” he continued. “Our team chemistry is good as we worked on that during our summer trip to Wittenberg and that is what we strive for day in and day out.”
