MINERSVILLE — No Parker Hatter? No problem.
The Tri-Valley Bulldogs on Thursday night traveled to Minersville and took down the Battlin’ Miners 31-6, outscoring Minersville 17-3 behind 99 yards on the ground from Landon Horoschak, 63 yards from Trey Porter, and 60 yards plus three touchdowns from fullback Donovan Keeth. Hatter, the engine of Tri-Valley’s offense through the first four weeks of the season, did not play after the Bulldogs’ first drive of the second quarter and was kept to just 17-yards on five carries.
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“Next man up is, you know, is our philosophy here,” Tri-Valley coach Jeffrey Sampson said. “Parker got that shoulder injury early on and Landon came in and then ran the ball on that first drive well and were able to score off it. It’s just how willingly they want to win and will go to any cost to win.”
While the final score indicated a Tri-Valley blowout, Thursday’s affair was a close battle for much of the evening.
Minersville early in the matchup showed the ability to move the ball, picking up 21 yards on their first drive and moving the ball to midfield before ultimately turning the ball over on downs. Taking over on their own 48, Tri-Valley had an early opportunity to take control of the game but an ill-advised Trey Porter pass would be intercepted by Jordan Bowers at the Battlin’ Miners 35-yard line and returned it 33-yards to the Bulldogs’ 32-yard line.
Facing a short field, Tri-Valley made Minersville work for every yard on their second possession of the day, as it took the Battlin’ Miners 10-plays to go 22-yards before opting to take the points on a 27-yard field goal from Bowers, to give Minersville an early 3-0 advantage.
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Tri-Valley was unable to answer the field goal on their second drive of the game, punting it after a three-and-out.
After forcing a Minersville punt, Tri-Valley’s offense got the ball rolling on their third drive of the evening, going 68 yards on seven plays with a 39-yard run from Landon Horoschak setting up fullback Donovan Keeth to punch it in from 4-yards out, giving the Bulldogs a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter, a lead they did not relinquish the rest of the evening.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 14-3 before the break, scoring on their very next possession after Trey Porter picked off Minersville quarterback Kushon Sims at the Miners’ own 17 yard line. Facing a 2nd and 14 at the Minersville 21, a Trey Porter sweep to the near side picked up 18-yards before he finished the drive off himself two plays later on a one-yard touchdown run.
After halftime, Minersville looked to gain some momentum and put together a strong opening drive marching their way 68-yards on six plays including a 48 yard reception by Camden Rodgers from the arm of Derek Derenzo. The Battlin’ Miners throughout the game used both Derenzo and Sims at quarterback. Minersville continued to drive deep into Tri-Valley territory, facing a first and goal from the Bulldogs’ six but the drive fizzled out there, with the Battlin’ Miners opting to go back to the leg of Bowers. Bowers made the 23-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-6.
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Tri-Valley eventually answered the Bowers’ field goal with a field goal off the leg of Nathan Hilliard, a 31-yard attempt to extend the lead back to 11-points, 17-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
Facing a two-score deficit in the fourth quarter, Minersville was aggressive in the final 12 minutes offensively with Derek Derenzo mostly under center. On their first drive of the quarter, the Battlin’ Miners threw the ball on six of eight plays including a 23-yard reception from Parker Zaharis that put Minersville to the Tri-Valley 32-yard line. But four-straight incompletions from Derenzo resulted in the second turnover on downs of the night for Minersville.
Looking to put the game away, the Bulldogs’ pounded the rock in the fourth quarter and took advantage of Minersville’s turnover on downs, with runs of 16 and 19 yards from Landon Horoschak before Donovan Keeth had a 37-yard touchdown to put the Bulldogs ahead 24-6 with under five minutes to play. Tri-Valley put an exclamation point on the win on Minersville’s ensuing drive as Robert Schwartz picked off a Kushon Sims pass at the Bulldogs’ own 25-yard line, before he returned it 75-yards for a score.
With the win, Tri-Valley has now won four-straight games since a 14-7 loss to Line Mountain to start the season. Their offense has picked up the pace, scoring 25 or more points in each of their four wins.
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Sampson believes the early setback was a good learning lesson for the Bulldogs and one they’ve built on since.
“I think they realize now that you have to play four quarters of football to win that first and give it as much effort as you’re capable of giving because that first game of the year, I don’t believe that we gave as much effort as what we needed to to win the football game,” he said. “And I think that’s one of the two of the things, the effort that they need to win a football game and, you know, just take it to their team.”
Now, the Bulldogs will have an extra day of rest before taking on Marian Catholic next Friday night in a critical Schuylkill League Division II matchup that could also factor into the District XI playoff race as the second half of the season begins.
“I think we’re on track,” Sampson said once the dust settled. “I think tonight was a good game. I thought we played well. I don’t think we played four quarters. We made a lot of mistakes, penalties and interceptions and stuff like that that we need to clean up to be where we want to be come playoff time.”
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For Minersville, the loss is their fourth straight, the program’s first four-game losing streak in over a decade. If the Battlin’ Miners are going to right the ship, it won’t be easy. The second half of their season features matchups against three teams currently with .500 or better records in Shenandoah Valley, Williams Valley, and Mahanoy Area. They also have matchups against Schuylkill Haven and Nativity BVM on the docket.
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