For as much as teams have struggled preparing for Simon Kenton’s unique Counter Trey Gap Spread Offense over the years, the Southwestern Warriors threw an old-fashioned one at the Pioneers in meetings this year and last.
The Pioneers (2-1 overall) could not come up with answers for the Wishbone offense against their visitors from near Somerset. After two lightning delays in the first quarter, the Warriors (3-0) controlled the game in a 34-19 victory. The squads tried hard to play the game because Southwestern traveled nearly three hours to Northern Kentucky after Simon Kenton ventured down there last year.
“We had to deal with a lot of adversity,” said Jason Foley, Southwestern head coach. “The thing I’m most proud of is we dealt with adversity, overcame it and got the job done. That’s a credit to our players and my coaching staff, who kept it together and didn’t panic.”
Southwestern unofficially put up 375 yards of total offense to 356 for Simon Kenton. Simon Kenton senior and four-year starting quarterback Chase Crone left the game near the end of the first half because of an injury that Head Coach Roy Lucas said he hopes is not serious.
“We came out and did what we thought we could do,” Lucas said. “We had some success there early. They’re tough and they kept battling. Obviously, losing Chase late in the first half hurt us. The rain kind of backed off a bit. But we weren’t able to do some of the things we wanted to do because we didn’t have Chase. It is what it is.”
Both teams have size on their offensive lines. The Warriors consistently made holes behind the likes of senior offensive lineman Braiden Myers at 6-foot-4-inches, 275 pounds and junior Cooper Garmon at 6-2, 310. Senior running back Tanner Wright rushed the ball 18 times for 122 yards and three touchdowns averaging just under seven yards per carry. Junior running back Christian Walden ran for 107 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown averaging just under 10 yards per carry.
The Warriors threw in enough passes to keep the Pioneer defense honest. Senior quarterback Collin Burton completed 4 of 9 passes for 92 yards. Senior tight end Brody Perkins led Southwestern with two catches for 66 yards.
Simon Kenton ran a steady dose of junior running back Kaleb Bleier, who led every running back with 34 carries for 163 yards averaging just under five yards per touch. The Pioneers were already down dynamic senior running back Jayden Lawson with an injury.
“Simon (Kenton) has a great offense,” Foley said. “Chase Crone is one of the best quarterbacks in the state of Kentucky. We knew it was going to be a big challenge. I know they had a guy or two down. We had a couple linebackers down. It was a situation where a lot of our young guys had to step up and they did a good job of making plays, especially in the second half. Even in the second quarter, we started coming on a bit.”
Crone helped give the Pioneers a 13-0 lead after the first quarter. He ran for 55 yards on nine carries averaging just more than six per carry and completing 6 for 8 passes for 62 yards. Senior wide receiver Chase Williams had two catches for 52 yards for Simon Kenton.
Freshman quarterback Tucker Ober guided the Simon Kenton offense in the second half. He had nine carries for 52 yards averaging just under six yards per carry including a 4-yard touchdown with 1:05 left in the game to make the final score.
“We wanted to see what we could do with Tucker,” Lucas said. “He came in there and battled. We still did some good things. He led us on a nice drive there at the end. He ran the ball real well and made a couple throws to Chase Williams. We’ll get to work with him now, get back at it and see how it goes.”
The Pioneers scored on their opening drive converting two third downs. Crone found Williams for a 38-yard pass on 3rd-and-9 from the the Simon Kenton 42 then found Bleier in the right flat for a nine-yard touchdown catch giving the Pioneers a 7-0 lead after junior Andrew Petty made the point-after touchdown kick.
After a Southwestern punt, Simon Kenton finished another drive. Crone faked the hand-off, then darted straight up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown run with 2:25 left in the first quarter. The Pioneers led 13-0 after missing the PAT.
By halftime, the game would be tied, however, and Southwestern took the lead just two plays into the second half after a 10-minute halftime compared to the usual 15 minutes. Walden broke free for a 60-yard scamper before Wright punched it in from a yard out giving the Warriors the lead for good at 20-13 just 19 seconds into the second half.
Wright finished off another Southwestern drive scoring from 29 yards out with 59.8 seconds left to put the Warriors up 27-13. The Warriors scored their last touchdown with 3:53 left in the fourth quarter when senior Maddox Mink punched it in from four yards out and Moore booted the PAT.
Simon Kenton travels to Beechwood (3-0) on Friday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
BOX SCORE
Southwestern 0 13 14 7 34
Simon Kenton 13 0 0 6 19
First Quarter
SK: Kaleb Bleier 9 pass from Chase Crone (Andrew Petty kick)
SK: Crone 8 run (kick failed)
Second Quarter
SW: Christian Walden 1 run (run failed)
SW: Tanner Wright 48 run (Caleb Moore kick)
Third Quarter
SW: Wright 1 run (Moore kick)
SW: Wright 29 run (Moore kick)
Fourth Quarter
SW: Maddox Mink 4 run (Moore kick)
SK: Tucker Ober 4 run (kick failed)