London Runs Through Shawnee

 

Besides being a Freelance Sports Writer, I am a Substitute Teacher. Back on Friday, March 13, 2020, my life changed. More importantly, the world changed. After days and weeks of its progression, Covid-19 (Coronavirus) finally made its major mark on Ohio’s Educational System. At the time, people did not know the following. Friday, March 13, 2020 was the final in-person day of the 2019-2020 School Year (for many Ohio School Districts). For the school district I sub for (Xenia Community Schools – XCS), the following week was set to be the final week of classes before the start of Spring Break. Being that no one in today’s society knew how to deal with an ongoing pandemic, people did not know what to expect. To be perfectly honest, no one still knows what to expect. The Coronavirus Pandemic has not ended. Its end date is unknown. As the days and weeks of both Spring and Summer proceeded to go on, one issue became very clear. The uncertainty of the upcoming 2020-2021 School Year was very prevalent. As a result of that issue, another situation was beginning to be talked about. A Fall Season without sports was a real possibility. To me, all I could think about was the possibility of not being able to cover any Ohio High School Football Games. In fact, I started preparing myself for the worst. Within my mindset, I just kept on telling myself that there would be no football. I wanted to build myself up for the eventual sadness that was sure to come all at once. I did not want to be hit with the bad news. Being informed that way would cause so much pain.

 

            Fast forward to tonight (Friday, September 18, 2020). Currently, I am sitting inside of London, Ohio’s Bowlus Field. Believe it or not, the 2020 Ohio High School Football Season was not canceled. Instead of the normal 10-Week Season, the season was shortened to 6-Weeks. In just mere minutes, London High School’s (LHS) Red Raiders will be facing Springfield, Ohio’s Shawnee High School (SHS) Braves. Each Central Buckeye Conference (CBC) school possesses a record of 3-0. Therefore, I expect to be witnessing a good game. Shawnee won the Official Coin Toss. The team has decided to begin on Offense. After the kickoff, the Braves’ Offense started on its own 35-Yard Line. SHS proceeded with two rushing plays. Then, an incomplete pass was thrown. The ball remained on the 35-Yard Line. On 4^th Down and 10, Drew Mitch punted the ball away (10:40). London’s Offense started with good field position. The ball rested on the team’s 49-Yard Line.

 

            The Red Raiders put forth a healthy dose of Antwaun Burns. After Burns rushed the ball three times, the ball was positioned on the Braves’ 38-Yard Line. LHS proceeded to continue the utilization of Burns’ legs. Burns had two more runs. Those plays picked up a total of 10-Yards. On 1^st Down and 10 from Shawnee’s 28-Yard Line, Jonathan Schooley rushed the ball. He almost broke free to the end zone. Before he could break free, Schooley was tackled. He was brought down on the 19-Yard Line (8:22). With 7:29 on the clock, LHS had a 2^nd Down and 6 from the 10-Yard Line. Khaleb Comer took the hand-off. He was stopped at the goal line. On 1^st and Goal, Burns took the ball into the end zone (7:03). Ryan Fullmer’s Extra Point Kick was good. By the score of 7-0, London leads Shawnee. Shawnee’s next Offensive Drive started on the team’s 25-Yard Line. The drive was a complete disaster. On 3^rd Down and 10, the ball remained on the 25-Yard Line. At 6:00, Drew Mitch completed a pass to Luke Myers. Unfortunately, Myers was tackled way in the backfield (21-Yard Line). On 4^th Down and 14, SHS punted the ball away (5:25).

 

            Once again, London’s Offense started an Offensive Drive with good field position. The ball was positioned at Midfield (50-Yard Line). On 1^st Down and 10, Comer picked up 13-Yards (5:13). The next play ended with Comer rushing for 7-Yards. With 4:08 remaining in the 1^st Quarter, the ball was on Shawnee’s 30-Yard Line. On 2^nd Down and 3, Schooley ran the ball up the middle. Although he was brought down on SHS’s 26-Yard Line, he managed to obtain a First Down. The Red Raiders’ Offense went on to allow Burns to rush the ball three, consecutive times. At the 1:19 mark, LHS faced 4^th Down and 3. The ball rested on the 19-Yard Line. After the snap-from-center, Burns was handed the ball again. This time, he picked up the First Down. The 5-Yard Run moved the ball to SHS’s 14-Yard Line. Before the 1^st Quarter ended, London was able to conduct two more plays. Those plays barely moved the ball. At the end of the 1^st Quarter, London still leads Shawnee 7-0.

 

            After the 2^nd Quarter got underway, London’s Offense still experienced problems. First, Burns was tackled for a loss of 7-Yards. Then, the unit was hit with a penalty violation. At 11:03, the ball was on Shawnee’s 24-Yard Line. The Red Raiders faced 4^th Down and 10. Instead of attempting a Field Goal, the team decided to run an Offensive Play. After the snap-from-center, Isaiah Jones threw a pass to the end zone. The intended receiver was going one-on-one with a defender. In the end, the defender won the showdown. He broke up the pass. LHS turned the ball over on downs. Shawnee’s Offense was unable to capitalize off of it defense’s good play. The Braves’ Offense went on to go three plays and out. With 9:31 on the scoreboard, the ball was on SHS’s 20-Yard Line. On 4^th Down and 9, the ball was punted away.

 

            London’s Offense got going on the team’s own 34-Yard Line. On 1^st Down and 10, Burns took the hand-off. He moved the ball to the 45-Yard Line (9:18). If Burns was not tackled at that point, his run could have been very long. Quite possibly, he might have scored a touchdown. By the way of running the ball, the Red Raiders’ Offense continued to move the ball. Consecutive runs by Schooley, Burns, Comer, and another one by Schooley placed the ball on Shawnee’s 24-Yard Line. With 5:45 remaining in the First Half, the ball was positioned on SHS’s 21-Yard Line. LHS was faced with 4^th Down and 5. Once again, London refused to perform a Field Goal Attempt. The team performed a play. Burns took the hand-off. He proceeded to rush the ball to the 9-Yard Line. On 1^st and Goal, Burns was handed the ball again. When he stopped running, Burns was in the end zone (5:21). Fullmer’s Extra Point Kick was good. London leads Shawnee 14-0.

 

            Shawnee’s next Offensive Drive started on the Braves’ 20-Yard Line. An eventual penalty moved the ball back 10-Yards. With 4:14 remaining in the 2^nd Quarter and First Half, SHS was faced with 3^rd Down and 14 from the 16-Yard Line. After the snap-from-center, Drew Mitch was almost dropped for a Safety. During the process, he fumbled the ball. London’s Jonathan Schooley recovered the loose ball. When he recovered the ball, Schooley was in the end zone. As a result, he scored a Touchdown. After the successful completion of the Extra Point Kick, London possessed a 21-0 lead. How would Shawnee’s Offense respond to such a grave mistake? The Braves’ next Offensive Drive started on the team’s 35-Yard Line. With much success, the team was unable to move the ball. SHS’s Offense went three plays and out. On 4^th Down and 6 from the 39-Yard Line, the team was forced to punt (2:55). The ball ended up being downed on London’s 25-Yard Line.

 

            With 1:32 on the clock, it was now 2^nd Down and 9 from the 26-Yard Line. Burns proceeded to sprint his way 24-Yards (to Midfield’s 50-Yard Line). From Midfield, Comer moved the ball to Shawnee’s 34-Yard Line. London’s good fortunes continued. On 1^st Down and 10 from the 34-Yard Line, Schooley completed a pass to Jeremiah Yearout (56.6-Seconds). The 15-Yard Pass Completion got the ball to the 19-Yard Line. An ensuing run by Burns placed the ball on the 6-Yard Line. On 2^nd and Goal, Burns took the ball into the end zone (16.7-Seconds). The Extra Point Kick was good. By the score of 28-0, London took a commanding lead over Shawnee. At the end of the First Half, London still led Shawnee 28-0. After the Halftime Break, London started on Offense first. At 10:46, the ball was on the Red Raiders’ 42-Yard Line. On 2^nd Down and 12, Schooley completed a 30-Yard Pass to Ethan Minner. Minner was tackled on the Braves’ 28-Yard Line. From that point, the drive stalled. At 8:18, London had a 4^th Down and 1 on SHS’s 19-Yard Line. Burns took the hand-off. Shawnee’s Defense immediately brought him down. London turned the ball over on downs.

 

            The ball was downed on Shawnee’s 19-Yard Line. On 1^st Down and 10, Mitch ran the ball 11-Yards (to the 30-Yard Line – 8:09). The next play consisted of Mitch completing an 8-Yard Pass to Danny Rogers. The team went on to obtain a First Down. The ball rested on SHS’s 40-Yard Line. Mitch proceeded to complete passes to both Cameron Brucker (6-Yards) and Rudy Scanlon (25-Yards). With 5:36 on the clock, the ball rested on London’s 29-Yard Line. On 2^nd Down and 1 from the 20-Yard Line, Mitch completed a 20-Yard Touchdown Pass to Jamon Miller (5:01). As he caught the ball, Miller was wide-open. The Extra Point Kick was good. Shawnee now trails London 28-7. London’s next Offensive Drive started with a 10-Yard Run. Burns took the ball from his team’s 18-Yard Line to the 28-Yard Line. The Red Raiders soon avoided a potential disaster. With 3:36 remaining in the 3^rd Quarter, a fumbled snap took place. Fortunately, LHS’s Offense (Antwaun Burns) recovered the loose ball. On 4^th Down and 9 from the 29-Yard Line, LHS had to punt.

 

            Shawnee’s Offense started its next drive on the team’s 49-Yard Line. With 1:24 remaining in the 3^rd Quarter, the ball was on London’s 45-Yard Line. On 3^rd Down and 4, Max Guyer had a long run. Unfortunately, an Illegal Formation Penalty negated the long run. The ball moved back 5-Yards (Midfield – 50-Yard Line). An ensuing Holding Penalty moved the ball back again. This time, the ball was moved back to Shawnee’s own 39-Yard Line. On 4^th Down and 20 from the 39-Yard Line, SHS was forced to punt (37.2-Seconds). The punt was a good one. The ball ended up being downed on London’s 4-Yard Line. At the end of the 3^rd Quarter, London leads Shawnee 28-7. The Red Raiders controlled the entire 4^th Quarter. The team’s Offensive Drive started with 24.6-Seconds remaining in the 3^rd Quarter. It did not end until the 1:25 mark of the 4^th Quarter. At the 4^th Quarter’s 1:25 mark, the ball rested on the Braves’ 3-Yard Line. On 3^rd and Goal, Burns rushed the ball into the end zone. Fullmer’s Extra Point Kick was no good. However, that did not matter. The damage was already done. Just like it had done the entire game, London’s rushing attack controlled the 4^th Quarter. By the Final Score of 34-7, London went on to defeat Shawnee.