By Eric Frantz

Contributing Writer

The last time Springfield played at Heidkamp Stadium it beat Wayne, led by then-senior Braxton Miller, 28-21 on homecoming. To celebrate, the Wildcats performed grass drills on the “W” at midfield.

Friday’s return trip wasn’t as joyous.

Beginning GWOC Central Division play, the host Warriors clobbered the Wildcats 56-0 to win their fourth in a row and improve to 5-1 (1-0). Springfield slipped to 1-5 (0-1). Wayne led 42-0 at halftime.

“(Head Coach Jay Minton) brought that up all week,” Wayne senior linebacker Jarrod Hardrick said. “We had to come out, make a statement and redeem ourselves against Springfield.”

Said junior running back Trey McFadden: “We knew what they did last time and we knew it wasn’t going to happen again. They were not going to do that again.”

Since that 2009 Springfield win, the programs have gone in different directions. The Warriors are 19-6 since, while Springfield is 7-15.

A big reason for the Warriors’ success over that span has been a dynamic offense. Friday, the Warriors didn’t disappoint.

Quarterback Javon Harrison and running back Trey McFadden each ran for two first-half touchdowns as the Warriors racked up 219 total yards in the first two quarters, including 133 on the ground. Harrison didn’t play after halftime. McFadden, who ended with 101 yards on 18 carries, exited after scoring his third TD with 6:15 to go in the third quarter.

“I could tell this whole week we were going to do well,” McFadden said. “This was our best week of practice.”

Under first-year head coach Eric Gillespie, Springfield has shown improvement the last two weeks with a win over Troy (27-21) and a narrow loss to Xenia (21-20). Friday showed there’s still a steep climb.

The Wildcats had the ball three minutes more than Wayne in the first half and ran just two less plays but gained 158 less yards. Freshman running back Xavier Garland led Springfield with 53 yards on 21 carries. Springfield had 101 total yards for the game.

An improved Wayne defense forced five turnovers, including four in the first half. A year after allowing 30.4 points per game, Wayne is allowing less than half that this season (12.7 points).

A 17-14 Week 2 loss to Canton McKinley is Wayne’s only blemish.