LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
OAKLAND – It was not only Homecoming, but Senior Night on Friday night at Titans Field. The Tri-County Titans hosted the Sullivan-Okaw Valley Redskins in Lincoln Prairie Conference play. The Titans looked to end a five-game losing streak and send their eight senior players off in style on home soil, while the Redskins looked to stay undefeated to have an opportunity for a conference championship rematch at home against ALAH in the final week of the regular season. As the ball kicked off, it was a quick start by SOV that Tri-County could never recover from as the Redskins went on to a 47-12 win over the Titans.
The Redskins started the contest off with a bang on the first play from scrimmage. At the 11:17 mark, Cooper Christensen found Aian Fryman for a 58-yard touchdown pass. Fryman hit the PAT to make the score 7-0. On the first series for Tri-County, SOV found the end zone again on the defensive side as Braden Montgomery intercepted a pass from Titan quarterback Garrett Pollock and returned it 42 yards for the score with 10:07 left. The extra point was missed, making the score 13-0 in favor of the Redskins.
After a very short Titans punt, the Redskins went down the field again, going to the ground game with 5:18 left as Fryman ran in from four yards out. Fryman's PAT made the tally 20-0. The Redskins then closed the quarter out in style at the 1:50 mark as Rhett Lehman powered in from one yard out. Fryman made the PAT to increase the lead to 27-0.
The second quarter started like the first quarter, with the Redskins going to the ground at the 11:50 mark as Fryman found a seam to go 63 yards for the score. Fryman added the extra point to make the score 34-0 – it seemed like the contest would become a rout.
However, the Titans had one play that turned the momentum around.
On the next play from scrimmage for Tri-County, Pollock went play action and hit his target in the middle of the field from the Titan’s 37-yard line. The pass was a little underthrown, but Myles Watson made the adjustment between two SOV defenders to reel in the catch and stay on his feet. Watson then went down the sideline to reach the end zone for a 63-yard touchdown catch with 10:50 left. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 34-6.
The game then became a back-and-forth battle from there, with the Titans making defensive plays to stay with the powerful Redskins attack for the rest of the contest. SOV managed to move down the field late in the quarter, hitting the end zone again with 1:00 left as Addison Hullum scampered in from two yards out. Fryman hit the extra point making the score 41-6. However, the combination of Pollock and Watson struck again with 44 seconds left in the quarter, connecting deep down the field with Watson finding the hole and going 71 yards for a touchdown. The extra point kick attempt failed making the score 41-12 at the halftime break.
The third quarter saw both teams go scoreless, with the Titans making strong plays on the defensive end as Watson intercepted a pass from Christensen during the frame. The lone score in the fourth quarter came courtesy of SOV through the air as Owen Smith caught a pass from Christensen to go 44 yards for a score with 7:26 left. The extra point kick was missed making the score 47-12. Tri-County managed to march down the field late with an opportunity to score near the end of the game. The Titans tried to use a little trickery, but the halfback pass attempt by Watson was intercepted in the end zone for a touchback and the Redskins then ran out the clock to secure the win.
After spotting the Redskins a 27-0 lead early, the Titans were only outscored 20-12 in the final three quarters, showing the “never say die” attitude of the team. It was an effort by a 20-man Titans squad that head coach TJ Blake knows will always be remembered.
"The season is obviously not going our way, but us coaches talk about it all the time is that the things that we are doing with twenty kids … there is not too many schools in the state of Illinois or anywhere that will continue to play 11-man football and just continue to fight in every game. Our guys are great with that. They're fighting each and every time they are out there on the field and tonight it was even more special being Senior Night,” Blake said.
“The seniors are fighting even harder even though they already fight hard. We went into this one knowing SOV is a good team. We have our issues, but if we go out there and play our game and we try to be as physical as we can you never know what will happen. We spotted them 27 points early, but that seems to be the theme a little bit. We come out a little flat and all of a sudden we decide to play some football … I love this group, and some of these seniors I've known since they were five, and some of them I first met when they were in sixth grade. I've had the fortunate opportunity to be in a lot of these kids' lives. It is really unfortunate to see them go. However, it is not just the seniors, you have some freshmen, some sophomores and some juniors that just step up and make plays throughout the game as well, and we are building and hopefully next year we get some better numbers and have the same goal next year," he concluded
Garrett Pollock was six of 19 for 213 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Titans, with Myles Watson catching four passes for 186 yards and two scores. Watson added six carries for 26 yards on the ground and added six solo tackles and an interception on the defensive end.
The rushing game was held in check for the Titans, who only gained 112 total yards on 36 carries. Landon Paugh had six carries for 36 yards and Jimmy Dillon had 16 carries for 29 yards. Cooper McQueen had six carries for 18 yards. Joe Henricks added eight assist tackles in the loss.
Cooper Christensen was eight of 13 passing for 218 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while Aian Fryman ran 11 times for 174 yards and two scores and caught one ball for 58 yards and a score. Braden Mongomery had four catches for 54 yards and Owen Smith had two catches for 57 yards and a touchdown.