By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — Three Rivers’ football team christened their newly-renovated home field Thursday night with a blowout non-conference win, defeating Charlotte 36-0.
It was the first game on the new turf field at Armstrong Field, done as part of an ongoing bond project in the district. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held before the game, featuring a number of district officials, community members, and student-athletes.
That ceremony was the prelude to a dominating rushing attack by the Wildcats that Charlotte rarely had answers to, racking up 251 yards of rushing and 317 total yards on the day.
“That’s our bread and butter. We want to run the football and complement it with the pass. We did that to a T in the first half,” head coach Jeff Awe said.
Much of the running was done by senior running back Lamonta Stone, who carried the ball 15 times for 176 yards on the evening and two touchdowns, including a strong 39-yard scamper to the right side with 4:20 to go in the first quarter that became the first touchdown scored at the new field. That score put the Wildcats up 6-0 early after the extra point was missed.
“Lamonta Stone is a good running back and man, he’s fast, and he ran hard and had a heck of a game. Very proud of him,” Awe said.
After a kickoff pinned the Orioles deep on the ensuing drive after the touchdown, the second key to the Wildcats’ victory showed up – a stingy defense. The ‘Cats forced an incompletion after a couple of two-yard rushes by senior quarterback Christian Powers and senior running back Kaiden Holmes, forcing them to punt. However, the snap would go over the head of the Orioles’ punter and go out the back of the end zone for a safety to put the ‘Cats up 8-0.
The ensuing kickoff was taken out to the Charlotte 40, and on the first play of the drive, Wildcats junior quarterback Mason Awe found 6-foot-7 junior tight end Zander Barth for a 37-yard completion. That set up a two-yard touchdown rush up the middle by the quarterback two plays later to make it 15-0 Wildcats after a converted extra point.
In the second quarter, after another Charlotte three-and-out, Stone led off the drive with a 29-yard rush, and then two plays later, Mason Awe would find sophomore wideout Brayden Carpenter on an 11-yard touchdown pass to make it 22-0 Three Rivers.
Midway through the second quarter, on the next Wildcats drive after Charlotte went three-and-out once again, Mason Awe ran to the right side in Orioles territory, was tackled by a gang of Orioles, and got up briefly before going right back down with what appeared to be a knee injury. After a few minutes on the ground, he walked off the field under his own power, and did not come back into the game.
Jeff Awe said Mason being taken out was a “precautionary” measure, and that he will be “all right.”
“We kind of kept him out, I think it’s precautionary. We’ll get him some treatment, and I think he’ll be okay,” Jeff Awe said.
Two quarterbacks played the rest of the way for the Wildcats, Carpenter and junior Peyton Hradsky. Carpenter finished the first half under center, while both Carpenter and Hradsky saw time in the second half. It was nearly all run plays from that point forward, including a Stone 25-yard touchdown run with 2:17 to go in the half to put the Wildcats up 29-0 at the half.
Hradsky did have one completion on the day in his lone attempt, a nine-yard pass to senior fullback Tre Rohrer in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Carpenter would use his legs for an 11-yard touchdown rush midway through the fourth quarter to put the ‘Cats up 36-0 and cap off the scoring.
Mason Awe finished the day 4-for-5 in passing for 57 yards and a touchdown, while also having four carries for 35 yards. LJ Hensley had 10 carries for 20 yards, Carpenter had four carries for 18 yards, and Marshall Andrews III had three carries for 12 yards.
In the receiving department, Carpenter hauled in two passes for 18 yards and a touchdown. Barth, Rohrer and junior Blake Dibble had one catch each for 37, nine, and two yards respectively.
On defense, the Wildcats held Charlotte to eight total yards of offense, and did not give up a first down to the Orioles until the third quarter. Landon Moreland led the defense with eight tackles, Jace Gray and Colton Westcomb had six tackles each, Tre Rohrer had five tackles, and Carson Bowley had four tackles, including three tackles for loss.
“These kids, I can’t tell you how proud I am of them and the commitment they’ve put in. It was fantastic to see the community come out tonight and support these boys,” Awe said. “Great night for all.”
The win puts the Wildcat’s record at 1-0, matching their win total from last season. Three Rivers’ next match will be on the road against Adrian. Kickoff is on Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
