By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — The pomp and circumstance of homecoming night at Armstrong Field was drowned out a few times Friday night by the pops of the confetti poppers from Paw Paw’s student section on the opposite side of the field.
The Division 4 Associated Press No. 3-ranked Red Wolves scored six touchdowns against an overmatched Three Rivers squad to spoil the Wildcats’ homecoming festivities and take home a 41-0 win.
Three Rivers was not able to get much of anything going in the game, recording a total of negative-15 yards of offense, while Paw Paw was seemingly able to move the ball at will, notching 519 yards on the night, 420 of them on the ground.
“We came out flat, and that’s my responsibility,” Three Rivers head coach Jeff Awe said. “We were a little bit better in the second half, but we were not focused, we were not physical the entire game, and that’s something we have to improve on.”
In the first quarter, Paw Paw took up nearly half of the quarter on its opening possession, capped off by a one-yard touchdown rush by running back Ben Miller to complete a 68-yard drive and take a 7-0 lead. Three Rivers would take over at its own 5-yard line and nearly get safetied twice in the drive, losing four yards in three plays and punting to the Three Rivers 35. Paw Paw would capitalize on the short punt two plays later on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Gunnar Goodell to Barron Marinich to take a 13-0 lead after a missed extra point.
Three Rivers would keep going backwards on its next possession from their own 20-yard line, as they lost 18 yards on their next three plays – including a 10-yard sack of quarterback Aiden Williams. A roughing the punter penalty would give Three Rivers its first first down of the game, but they would lose six yards in the next three plays and punt the ball away to begin the second quarter.
Paw Paw would take over at Three Rivers’ 40 and go down the field to score, capped off by a 3-yard touchdown rush by PJ DeYoung to go up 20-0 midway through the second quarter. The drive was also aided by an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Three Rivers bench for being too far onto the field coaching, something Awe was flagged for on their previous drive as a sideline warning.
Three Rivers would get a good kickoff return by Brayden Carpenter down to Paw Paw’s 49, the first time they made it into visitor territory in the game. However, the Wildcats went backwards and three-and-out once again.
Paw Paw would then nearly take up the remaining 4:26 on the clock, going 61 yards in seven plays and four minutes to take a 27-0 lead, capped off by a 6-yard touchdown pass from Goodell to Marinich. Three Rivers would go into the half on a high note with Lamonta Stone’s 14-yard carry on the final play of the second quarter – the longest play from scrimmage the Wildcats would have all evening.
“Lamonta played hard, and I’m proud of him,” Awe said of his running back, who had eight carries for plus-16 yards in the game.
Three Rivers would take that positive momentum into the second half kickoff, as Stone brought the ball out to their own 38 on a return that briefly fired up the Wildcats fans in attendance. However, the offense would go backwards again, including false start and delay of game penalties, and eventually go three and out.
Paw Paw would waste little time putting more points on the board. Aided by a 34-yard rush by running back Bryson Newell on the first play of the drive, the Red Wolves would take just five plays to score, as Miller punched the ball in from three yards out to go up 34-0 after the extra point. After another Three Rivers three-and-out, the Red Wolves struck again on the first play of its ensuing drive, a 55-yard touchdown rush by Newell to put the visitors up 41-0 with just under four minutes to go in the third.
In the fourth quarter, Three Rivers would force a turnover on downs on Paw Paw’s first drive of the quarter, but the Wildcats would not be able to take advantage of the good field position at Paw Paw’s 39 – one of the scarce times they had the ball in Paw Paw territory in the contest – and punted after three plays. Paw Paw would have one more big running play, a Kaelin Tate 55-yard rush, but eventually kneeled down to end the game.
Three Rivers was led by Stone’s 16 yards rushing, followed by Jaxon Smith rushing four times for negative-two yards, LJ Hensley rushing three times for negative-three yards, Ethan Bennett carrying two times for negative-seven yards, and Caleb Moore rushing once for no gain. Williams was 1-of-2 passing for negative-two yards, with Carpenter making the lone reception.
Defensively for the Wildcats, Jace Gray and Carpenter had six tackles each, followed by Carson Beuter, Sam Reynolds and Landon Moreland with three each.
For Paw Paw, DeYoung was their leading rusher with eight carries for 198 yards and a touchdown, while Newell had seven carries for 115 yards and a touchdown. Miller had 10 carries for 34 yards and two touchdowns. Goodell was 5-of-5 passing for 99 yards. Defensively, Paw Paw had 11 total tackles for loss in the game.
With the loss, Three Rivers goes to 3-4, while Paw Paw keeps their record perfect at 7-0.
The Wildcats’ next game will be one of the biggest matchups of its season, and one it needs to keep its fleeting playoff hopes alive – a matchup on the road against county rival Sturgis Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. While Sturgis has struggled to an 0-7 record after its 49-6 loss to Vicksburg Friday, Awe said that records don’t matter with the rivalry.
“Throw the records out, always. Sturgis is a proud program, we have to go there on the road, it’s a county rival, it’s a huge game for us,” Awe said. “We know the situation: We’ve got to win the last two games to have any chance of making the playoffs and having a winning season. Our kids need to be focused and ready to go next week.”
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
