Going into the high school football season, there were some teams that people used the words “vastly improved” with, and the team that lined up against the Tecumseh Arrows last Friday night was one of them.
The Stebbins Indians used a big first half to build a lead, and knocked off the Arrows 42-7, sending Tecumseh down to their fourth defeat of the season.
“We knew had a challenge in front of us,” said Tecumseh coach Chris Cory. “We did some good things, but made some mistakes and it got out of hand for us.”
On the Arrows first drive of the game, it would set the tone on how the night was going to be for the visitors. Coach Cory was staring at a fourth down at the Indians 36 and decided to go for it, only to see a touchdown pass called back for a penalty. After they marked off the yardage, the Arrows were forced to punt.
The Indians came right back on their initial drive and used a big option play to Joe Simpkins to set the Indians into Arrows territory. Three consecutive runs put Stebbins at the six yard line, where Simpkins scored to give the host squad an 8-0 lead.
Tecumseh would move the ball again on their next drive, getting two first downs and moving into the 25 yard line. On fourth down, they would come up short and turn the ball over on downs.
Stebbins answered on their next possession, driving the ball up to their 32 yard line, where Mason Dyer broke loose for a 68-yard touchdown run with 0.2 seconds left in the first quarter, and the Indians headed to the second period with a 16-0 lead.
Moving the ball wasn’t the problem for the Arrows, as they took their next possession and gained a pair of first downs from Blake Nickell to get back into Indians territory before a holding call would stall the drive at the 32. Later on a fourth down play at the Stebbins 37, an incomplete pass would turn the ball back over to Stebbins on downs.
The Indians would capitalize on their next turnover, as they intercepted an Arrows pass, and with 4:37 left in the half, Davie Hickey would make it 22-0 on a short touchdown run.
Tecumseh had one last possession of the half starting at midfield, and again moved the ball deep into the Stebbins red zone. Matt Crane hit Brandon Morgan on a third-down play for a first down to the 11 yard line, and Nickell took the ball down to the one yard line setting the Arrows in position to get on the scoreboard.
A penalty against the Arrows moved them back, and on a third down at the five yard line, the Indians intercepted a pass in the end zone, sending the game to the half at 22-0.
“We could have been right there, that is the frustrating part,” Cory said. “We also had our first score of the game called back. We are playing young kids and made some mistakes. At the end of the half, Matt Crane was trying to make plays and they just picked it off.”
Tecumseh did score their lone touchdown of the game midway through the third quarter, as they put together a 10-play 53 yard drive ending in a one yard touchdown run by Nickell to make it 22-7.
“We had a good talk at halftime. We played hard in the first half, and we drove right down and scored after stopping them,” Cory said. “It looked like it was going our way, but they have a lot of veterans and put together a good drive to answer us,”
Tecumseh returns to action on Friday night hosting Shawnee, with kickoff set for 7:30. Despite the conditions of the new track, the game will be held at Spitzer Stadium, according to Cory. .
“Their quarterback is back, and it will be a challenge. They are as healthy as they have ever been, and it will be tough. I expect both teams to be prepared.”
