HEGINS — At one point during the second quarter, Tri-Valley coach Mike Ulicny yelled out to his troops, “Let’s wear them down.”
That’s exactly was the Bulldogs eventually did. Their numbers and depth turned out to be a key contributor in what ended up a rout on the scoreboard.
Sophomore Danny Scheib ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns, while the Dawgs’ defense held one of the Tri-Valley League’s best returning offensive weapons in check during a season-opening, non-league 45-16 victory over Millersburg on Friday at Bulldog Stadium.
The game was a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Class A championship game, won by Tri-Valley 38-7.
Friday’s game had similar results.
Scheib scored on runs of 7, 8 and 41 yards. He also had a 62-yard run midway through the first quarter that set up Tri-Valley’s first touchdown. Scheib’s final two scores came on consecutive runs in the third quarter during a stretch of 32 consecutive points that turned a 14-13 Millersburg lead into a laugher.
“We started together, we didn’t fall apart like in past years,” Scheib said. “We didn’t point fingers at each other, we just kept working.
“This kind of start got the ball rolling for us.”
Dawson Schwalm added 46 yards rushing for the Bulldogs (1-0), while Ike Lucas had 42. Jaden Buchanan, taking over for the graduated Hunter Harner at quarterback, ran for two touchdowns and was 6-of-12 passing for 94 yards.
Tri-Valley finished the night with 384 yards of total offense. One reason the Bulldogs had the start they did was a result of their depth.
Tri-Valley (1-0) had 48 players listed on its roster for Friday’s game, an impressive number for a school the Bulldogs’ size. The Indians had 30.
That depth meant that the Bulldogs only had to use two linemen — Hunter Herb and Dan Opozda — on both sides of the ball. It allowed Tri-Valley to keep its linemen fresh as the Bulldogs eventually wore Millersburg down.
“What we have is some numbers this year,” Ulicny said. “They started to get a little tired and we have a truck in the back in Danny Scheib. He kind of plowed away pretty good.
“They looked they had a couple of guys a little bit banged up on the line. Their line, depth wise, wasn’t that strong. They are nice quality team. They are going to have a nice year this year.”
Equally impressive was the play of Tri-Valley’s defense.
Indians quarterback Christian Wingard threw for 1,892 yards last season and ran for 16 TDs. Friday turned out to be a rough night.
Hounded and under pressure all game, Wingard was just 4-for-19 passing for 121 yards. Most of those came on a 73-yard scoring strike to Austin Lehman over the middle early in the second quarter that gave Millersburg a 14-13 lead. The shifty Wingard couldn’t get going on the ground, either, and had minus-23 yards on 11 carries.
The Bulldogs took the lead for good late in the first half when Buchanan went over the right side from 10 yards out, finishing off a six-play, 80-yard drive. Buchanan added the two-point conversion run to make it 21-14.
A 60-yard punt by Buchanan early in the third quarter set up the Dawgs’ next nine points.
The Indians’ proceeding drive lasted three plays, and ended when Tri-Valley’s Bryon Rusinko blocked the punt. The ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety.
Dawson Schwalm returned the free kick to Millersburg’s 19. Four plays later, Scheib went in from left side for eight yards out, making it 31-14.
Game Summary
Millersburg (0-1) 7 7 0 2 — 16
Tri-Valley (1-0) 13 8 24 0 — 45
Mil — Wingard 1 run (Wingard kick)
TV — J. Buchanan 1 run (Harner kick)
TV — Scheib 7 run (kick failed)
Mil — Lehman 73 pass from Wingard (Wingard kick)
TV — J. Buchanan 10 run (J. Buchanan run)
TV — Safety, blocked punt rolled through end zone
TV — Scheib 8 run (Scheib run)
TV — Scheib 41 run (Harner kick)
TV — T. Lucas 31 run (Harner kick)
Mil — Safety, blocked punt recovered in end zone
Millers TV
First Downs 6 14
Rushes-Yards 29-24 46-290
Passes 4-19-0 6-12-0
Passing Yards 121 94
Total Yards 145 384
Fumbles-Lost 3-3 3-1
Penalties 5-44 6-59
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Millersburg — Shomper 6-24, E. Edrman 2-9, Lehman 4-7, T. Erdman 4-7, Wingard 11-(-23), Team 2-0. Tri-Valley — Scheib 16-160, Schwalm 7-46, I. Lucas 9-42, J. Buchanan 8-25, T. Lucas 2-30, Rothermel 1-1, Yoder 2-(-1), Team 1-(-13).
PASSING: Millersburg — Wingard 4-91-0, 121. Tri-Valley — J. Buchanan 6-12-0, 94.
RECEIVING: Millersburg — Lehman 1-73, Hesen 2-41, Grexon 1-7. Tri-Valley — A. Buchanan 2-44, T. Lucas 2-30, Scheib 1-15, I. Lucas 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS: None.