Shawnee senior Mitchell Humphreys threw a TD pass to senior Ed Boehmer and senior Trint Cordle rushed for a TD as the Braves improved to 4-1.
“We started sloppy offensively,” said Braves coach Rick Meeks. “They confused us a little bit up front, they were in a little bit of a different defense than everything we had seen on film. We adjusted, got physical with them and eventually wore them down. I’m proud of our guys for that.”
Meeks and Cordle each had interceptions for the Braves, who earned their first shutout since beating Stebbins 41-0 in Week 1.
“Defensively, we played well,” Meeks said. “Offensively we’ve got to start getting out of the gate a little bit quicker. It’s going to burn us at some point down the line. We’ve got to execute better.”
Each team traded possessions until a 40-yard run by Boehmer set up a 3-yard TD by TJ Meeks to give Shawnee an 8-0 lead early in the second quarter. With 45 seconds remaining, Humphreys hit Boehmer for an 11-yard TD pass in the back of the end zone and Meeks converted the two-point conversion to give Shawnee a 15-0 halftime lead.
Meeks scored on a 3-yard run with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter to make it 22-0. Cordle followed with a 10-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter and Meeks converted another two-point play to make it 30-0, triggering the running clock.
“When we play defense like that, it makes it a lot easier on the playcalling,” Rick Meeks said. “I was really pleased with our defense. We knew coming into the year we were going to be really tough defensively. Offensively we knew we were going to manufacture some points here and there which we were able to do and nurse our quarterbacks along and let them grow as the season goes along both (Humphreys and Cordle).”
Kenton Ridge last beat Shawnee 47-30 in 2018. The Braves have won three straight since the 2020 game was canceled due to complications from COVID-19.
While the Cougars have struggled with injuries over the last few weeks, they continue to keep playing hard, said Cougars coach Jon Daniels.
“Our kids continue to battle through everything,” he said. “As a coach I’ll take it all day. Certainly the result isn’t what we want. It’s not what our guys put in all that time in the offseason for, but nonetheless I think our group is staying together and that’s all that matters.”
The Cougars host Tecumseh (2-3) in the CBC Kenton Trail Division opener next Friday night in Springfield.
“We’ll have our hands full next week,” Daniels said. “That’s the nature of the CBC. It’s tough football.”
Shawnee will travel to North Union (1-4) — a team they’ve never played since joining the CBC in 2018 — in its CBC Mad River Division opener. The Wildcats are 1-4 but have lost three games by a total of 10 points. They fell to Urbana 31-28 in Week 5.
“I haven’t seen any film, I just know they’re a proud program that’s used to winning,” Rick Meeks said.
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