Meigs County football coach Jason Fitzgerald strongly encouraged his players to get a fast start Friday night against 3-0 and host Silverdale.
And a fast start the Tigers (3-1, 1-1) had as freshman quarterback Aaron Swafford threw three, first quarter touchdowns on the team’s first three possessions on the way to a 32-19 Region 3 AA victory.
Meigs took the opening kickoff, scored on its third play from scrimmage and dominated the first quarter - 116 total yards to 6 for Silverdale - as Swafford connected with senior Logan Fowler for 58 and 12 yard scoring tosses and with senior Zy Moore for 23 yards and a 19-0 advantage at the end of one.
“I told my guys that we had to come out hot and not let a 3-0 Silverdale team playing at home get any momentum at the start and we were able to do that,” said Fitzgerald.
“Aaron ran and threw the ball well and the offensive line did a great job of giving him time to throw and opened holes for the run. He shows a lot of poise for a freshman.”
Silverdale (3-1, 0-1) cut the lead to 19-7 late in the second quarter on a 63-yard scoring pass play from Alex Gonzalez to Alex Burks with Connor Eischeid making good on the extra point.
Swafford ran for two scores (15, 6 yards) in the third quarter to all but put the game away for a 32-7 lead heading into the fourth.
Silverdale put together two long drives in the fourth quarter (77 and 64 yards) as Burks scored on a 2-yard run with 6:50 remaining and Elijah Irwin scored on an 11-yard reverse on the game’s final play.
“I am proud of our guys for playing to the end with those two long scoring drives, but we made too many mistakes on penalties and turnovers earlier in the game,” said Silverdale coach Al Rogers
“We were always in a bind, but our guys never quit.”
Swafford’s Gold Shoes: “I didn’t play well in last week’s loss to Marion County so I threw those shoes away and bought these gold ones,” said Swafford with a smile. “I guess I’ll keep wearing them for awhile."
Best Game: “Tonight was my best game of the season (threw for 3 TDs and ran for 2 TDs) and a lot of credit goes to our offensive line and to our running backs who ran the ball well and also got open on our pass plays,” Swafford stated. "When things are not going well, my teammates are there to keep encouraging me which is a great help."
Meigs O-Line: “Our O-Line did a great job all night,” said coach Fitzgerald … seniors Dylan Hoefnar, Mason Anderson, Mitchell Fowler, Justin Stephens and sophomore David Keylor.
Interceptions: Meigs County – Zach Odum, Zy Moore, Logan Fowler … Silverdale - Garet Gibson
Fumble Recovery: Meigs Co. – Eli Loden
Blocked Extra Point: Meigs County - Logan Fowler
Stats:
Passing – Meigs Co. … Aaron Swafford (5-11-1, 127 yards, 3 TDs .. 4 dropped passes)
Silverdale- Alex Gonzalex (7-10-2, 92 yards) …
Rushing: Sliverdale - Alex Gonzales 9 carries for 86 yards … Alex Burks (11 carries 53 yards, 1 TD)
Meigs – Aaron Swafford (10 carries, 78 yards 2 TDs) … Logan Fowlerr (9 carries, 22 yards)
Meigs Co. 32, Silverdale 19
Meigs Co. 19 – 0 – 13 – 0 -- 32
Silverdale 0 – 7 – 0 – 12 – 19
1st Q
MC – Logan Fowler 58 pass from Aaron Swafford (kick failed), 6-0 … 3 plays, 58 yards, 0:55
MC – Fowler 12 pass from Swafford (pass failed), 12-0 … 6 plays, 52 yards, 3r two:26
MC – Zy Moore 23 pass from Swafford (Camyrn Harris kick), 19-0 … 7 plays, 36 yards
2 nd Q
Silverdale – Alex Burks 63 pass from Alex Gonzalez (Connor Eischeid kick), 19-7 … 3 plays, 64 yards, 1:29
3rd Q
MC – Swafford 15 run (Harris kick), 26-7 … 3 plays, 21 yards, 1:30
MC – Swafford 6 run 32-7 … 10 plays, 32 yards, 5:08
4th Q
Silverdale - Burks 2 run (kick blocked by Folwer), 32-13 … 14 plays, 77 yards, 7:21
Silverdale – Elijah Irwin 11 run (no PAT attempted – final play of game); 32-19 …. 7 plays, 64 yards, 1:50
Meigs (3-1, 1-1) Silverdale (3-1, 0-1)