By Scott Halasz
BEAVERCREEK — The joke in the Warner-Martin press box after an ugly first half Friday night was the first team to score in the Beavercreek-Carroll game would win.
That’s exactly what happened.
Senior wingback Justin Terrell took a short pitch from QB Cody Hocker and scampered two yards untouched for a touchdown with 10:51 left in the game, giving the Beavers the only points they would need in a 14-0 win at jam-packed Frank Zink Field.
Neither team wanted to give an inch on defense. Even the two-yard score didn’t come easy as Beavercreek needed a pair of fourth-down conversions and two Carroll penalties to aid the march to the end zone.
“I told our guys you’re playing Carroll,” Beavercreek coach Nic Black said. “They are not going to quit. It’s not going to be that kind of game.”
Hocker broke free for a 77-yard score about seven minutes later as the Beavers improved to 2-0 while Carroll dropped to 1-1.
Aside from those two drives, it was an offensive struggle. Or maybe a defensive showcase. Neither team could sustain a significant drive and when one team did, a penalty or turnover seemed to kill the momentum.
“For some reason on offense we chose to play Beavercreek and Carroll tonight,” Black said. “Our problems offensively were not only Carroll’s defense but our own poor execution. We did a very poor job reading their (defensive front).”
Beavercreek had just 84 yards at halftime while Carroll managed just 10. The Beavers had more penalty yardage than offensive yardage in the first 30 minutes, including a penalty that nullified a 72-yard punt return for TD by Linkhart, and the trend continued into the second half.
Unofficially Beavercreek finished with 336 total yards, 77 of those came on Hocker’s long run and 31 more came on a run by junior Kaden Wenger, who finished with 49 yards. Hocker ended with 112 yards rushing. Senior Rodney Alston added 53 yards rushing.
Carroll QB Nick Riley unofficially completed 23 passes for 100 yards. Unofficially the Patriots had only three total yards rushing.
“The defense had to answer on every single drive and that’s part of how you win,” Black said.
The Beavers are at Fairborn next week while Carroll hosts Sidney.