ARCANUM – The Arcanum Trojans defeated the visiting Bradford Railroader 62-12 in Cross County Conference football action.
“Our offensive line is getting better,” said Arcanum head coach, Jason Schondelmyer. “The bottom line is; we continue to get better and we have since week one. I am just super proud of where we are at and how we continue to get better.”
Trojans 6’2” 190 lb. sophomore quarterback, Bryce Schondelmyer set a new Arcanum season passing record in the first half of play, just the fifth game of the season breaking the old mark previously held by Justin Miller.
“He works really hard in the offseason,” Schondelmyer said of his quarterback. “He’s a football junkie so it’s paying off for him.”
“He continues to play well and he is just a real smart player,” continued Coach Schondelmyer. “It’s nice when you have a sophomore in high school that has been around the game for that long. It’s like having an additional set of eyes right there on the playing field which all coaches would love to have. He had a great game. Super proud of him and super proud of everybody.”
Arcanum took an early 7-0 lead with Schondelmyer scoring on a 8-yard run at 9:54 in the opening quarter with Joe Beck splitting the uprights out of the Tyler Huber PAT hold.
A Cael Gostomsky blocked punt set up the Trojans second score of the night with Schondelmyer throwing to Ian Baker for a 39-yard touchdown pass on the drives first play from scrimmage. With the Beck PAT kick perfect, the Trojans led 14-0 with 7:41 on the first quarter clock.
The Trojans made it a 21-0 first quarter score with Schondelmyer throwing a 12-yard TD pass to Garrett Garno with 1:24 in the second.
“The big boys up front – and that is such a group,” Coach Schondelmyers said, giving credit to his linemen. “I don’t care if its Greenville, Arcanum or whatever, those guys don’t ever get their names mentioned. Those guys are what keeps the quarterback upright, those guys are what make touchdowns happen. You’re only as strong as your offensive and defensive lines and they have been fantastic.”
Brennen Troutwine returned a 52-yard interception good for Arcanum touchdown to open second quarter play giving the home team a 28-0 advantage at 11:50 in the second.
Arcanum took advantage of a Schondelmyer to Baker 58-yard TD pass with 9:30 on the second period board to push the Trojans lead to 35-0 with the Beck PAT kick through the uprights.
The combination of Schondelmyer to Baker had the duo conneting for their third TD pass of the first half with 6:46 on the clock. The 17-yard strike had the home team taking a commanding 42-0 lead with both teams agreeing to a running clock.
“You just can’t do this without guys starting to understand where there’s openings out there on the field,” said Schondelmyer of his receivers. “The kids are starting to understand coverages better. It’s new to them and some of our kids don’t have a tremendous amount football knowledge so it’s a teaching process.”
“Each week they get a little bit better and they are – they’re making great catches for us,” Schondelmyer added. “It’s been a good two weeks for us in a row.”
Bradford would dent the scoreboard with 0:04 on the first half clock with Tevin Felver throwing to Landen Monnin for a score. A missed Railroaders PAT Kick sent the team’s to the break with Arcanum holding a 42-6 halftime lead.
A Schondelmyer to Troutwine 33-yard touchdown pass at 8:44 in the third extended the Trojans lead to 49-6 followed by a Schondelmyer 44 yard touchdown pass to Zade Shank with 4:10 on the thrid quarter clock. With the Beck kick good, Arcanum had a 56-6 advantage.
With over a minute to go in the third, Coach Schondelmyer pulled his first team and inserted his JV squad for the remainder of the game.
“We had a lot of kids, even in that second half that made some plays they have never made before,” Schondelmyer stated. “Super proud of when the JV guys got in there and were able to score some points too.”
A Tucker Miller 8-yard Bradford touchdown reception with 7:36 in the fourth had a 56-12 score.
The Arcanum JV squad woud get one final score of the night with Mason Sheldon connecting with Caden Thompson for a 18-yard touchdown pass giving Arcanum a 62-12 homecoming win.
Arcanum’s Schondelmyer was 17/20 passing good for 293-yards and 6-touchdowns. Sheldon was 2/3 for 23-yard and a TD for the Trojans.
Baker had 3-catches good for 114 yards and 3-touchdowns, Shank 6/88 and a TD, Troutwine 5/60 with a TD, Garno 2/24 and a TD, Thompson 1/18 and a TD and Nicholas Fry 1/7.
Schondelmyer led Arcanum in rushing with 3/20 and a TD, Sheldon 6/19, Troutwine 1/19 and Benjamin Coats 1/1.
