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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
Portsmouth West slays Dragons
Portsmouth West's Trevon Pendleton exploits an opening in the Fairland defense during the second half Friday, August 22, 2008, as the regular season of Ohio high school football kicked off. The Dragons lost to the visiting Senators, 21-0.
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PROCTORVILLE, Ohio -- Friday night marked the opening of the sequel in the Roger Snyder football coaching era with the Fairland Dragons.
But at the end of the night, the Dragons were slain by several different swords, 21-0.
First, there was the Swords of Portsmouth West -- Dale Swords. The Senators' running back accounted for all 21 points and half of the offense in the victory.
But maybe the mightier blow came from swords of Fairland. The Dragons repeatedly hurt themselves with penalties and turnovers in a sloppy 2008 debut.
"We are turning the ball over way too much," Snyder said. "You can't give good field position and turn the ball over two or three times and win."
The biggest miscue of the night was a controversial one in Snyder's eyes. Just two plays into the second half and trailing 7-0, Fairland's Matt Bloomfield ripped off an 8-yard run that would have given the Dragons a first down past midfield.
However, Portsmouth West came out of the pile with the ball and officials ruled the fumble had occurred before Bloomfield hit the ground.
"Matt says he was down," Snyder said. "We didn't get a break all night."
Instead of Fairland driving, the Senators took over and marched 52 yards in 10 plays with Swords bulling in on a 4-yard scoring run to give Portsmouth West a 13-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
The drive took its toll on the Dragons' linemen, and it would show shortly after the drive completed.
On Fairland's next possession, quarterback Cole Hatfield was sacked on consecutive plays, knocking the Dragons out of another scoring threat.
Following a punt, Portsmouth West took over and embarked on a grinding 19-play drive that culminated in Swords' 4-yard run with 4:45 left in the game.
What made it more difficult for Snyder to bear was his defense had held the Senators to a 3-and-out, but a personal foul for roughing the kicker extended the drive for another 16 plays and eight minutes. By the time the drive was over, Fairland had several players headed to the sidelines because of cramps.
"Our defense played pretty well most of the night," Snyder said. "They just got tired at the end."
The first half was a sloppy dogfight with neither team really executing well. Portsmouth West had just 88 yards at the break -- 40 of which came on Swords' first three runs. Fairland had just 53 total yards at halftime.
The difference was a breakdown late in the first half by the Dragons. After coming up just short on a third down play, a false start backed them up five yards and then an errant snap forced Aaron Ward to scramble around for a 3-yard loss that resulted in the Senators getting the ball at the Fairland 20 with 2:22 remaining.
It appeared Fairland would escape unscathed, but Alfie Brinker scrambled on the final play of the half and lobbed a ball into the end zone. With five Dragon defenders around him, Swords came down with the ball that gave Portsmouth West a 7-0 lead heading into the locker room.
"If they don't score there, it is 0-0 at halftime and who knows what happens," Snyder said. "We just made too many mistakes. That's the bottom line."
Fairland ended the game with just 55 yards of total offense, including just two yards on 11 plays in the second half.
PORTSMOUTH WEST 0 7 6 8 -- 21
FAIRLAND 0 0 0 0 -- 0
PW -- Swords 10 pass from A. Bricker (Morgan kick)
PW -- Swords 4 run (kick failed)
PW -- Swords 4 run (Swords run)
TEAM STATISTICS
PW F
First downs 13 5
Total Net Yards 235 55
Rushes-Yards 52-216 24-27
Passing Yards 19 28
Comp-Att-Int 3-10-1 4-5-1
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 4-2
Penalties-Yds 8-57 9-82
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Portsmouth West: Swords 18-101, 2 TDs; Pendleton 7-51; A. Bricker 5-35; J. Bricker 1-11; Ta. Journey 1-6; Tr. Journey 1-5; Southern 3-5; Murphy 6-5; Thompson 1-4; Fisher 1-0; Morgan 4-(-1); Perry 4-(-6). Fairland: Bloomfield 9-25; Cornwell 4-9; Fisher 2-7; Ward 1-(-3); Hatfield 8-(-11).
PASSING -- Portsmouth West: Alfie Bricker 1-of-3, 10 yards, TD; Ethan Morgan 2-of-7, 9 yards, INT. Fairland: Cole Hatfield 4-of-5, 28 yards, INT.
RECEIVING -- Portsmouth West: Swords 3-19, TD; Fairland: Lawhorn 1-16; Bloomfield 1-8; Ward 2-4.
