BuckeyeGrove.com - Miami Trace holds off McClain

October 14, 2007

Brian Snow
Recruiting Analyst

It is no secret that Miami Trace High School has dominated the SCOL in recent years. This year is slightly different; the Panthers came into their game against Greenfield McClain with a disappointing 3-4 record. However behind the strong play of Nathan Williams, Trace held on for a 25-18 win, and got back to .500.

On paper this game didn't look it was going to be close. Miami Trace had won 35 of the 37 against McClain, and also the Panthers have the far more talented team this year. The leader for Trace is of course Williams, and he made his impact felt early on.

On the first play of the game for Trace they gave it to Williams and he ran for a few yards, running over a linebacker in the process. While Williams isn't the bread and butter for the Panthers on offense, the running game is.

Trace used their strong run game to march down the field. Clearing the way was Williams, and quickly the Panthers found themselves ahead by the score of 6-0. Another touchdown made it 13-0, and it looked like Trace would run away with the game.

While the Trace offense was trying their hardest to get it done against a stingy McClain defense, it was the Trace defense that was the most dominant unit on the field. With Williams at middle linebacker, he ran sideline to sideline chasing down the Tiger ball carriers.

Also besides Williams, Trace had a big line that controlled the line of scrimmage. Despite the fact that Trace was dominating on both offense and defense, it was turnovers and penalties that kept the game close, and at halftime the score was 13-0.

With McClain seemingly on the verge of getting blown out, Trace stopped the Tigers and got the ball back. They drove the length of the field and finished their drive off with a touchdown. After a missed two point conversion, the score was 19-0, and the rout looked to be on.

However it was not going to be easy. McClain connected on a few long passes, and then a short TD run made the score 19-7, and after that point in time Trace seemed to self destruct a little bit.

That self destruction is what made Trace coach, Jeff Conroy, disappointed, "It's a good victory for us, but we are disappointed in our kids for letting them back in the football game. I thought defensively for three quarters, we played awful well. We ran the ball, we did the things we needed to do for a win."

The Panthers committed penalties, turned it over, made key mistakes, and overall just kept McClain in the game. The Tigers made a comeback and even cut the lead to 25-18 with a chance to recover the ball on an onside kick.

The kick was a good one, but the Tigers could not recover. That missed opportunity led to Trace taking a few knees and sealing the game.

The win was a big one for the Panthers. They stayed alive for both the league title and the state playoffs.

That fact was not lost on Williams, "It was a huge win. We have a shot at the league title and for the playoffs, we are excited."

For the game Williams finished with eight carries for 31 yards. He also was all over the field recording double-digit tackles despite having two and three linemen sent after him on every single play.

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