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Cadets claim a fourth straight PVC league title

BEVERLY — It was a Senior Night to remember for the nine seniors on the Fort Frye Cadet football team.

Not only did the Cadet senior class win their 40th game with a 31-12 win over Shenandoah but they also clinched their fourth consecutive Pioneer Valley Conference title.

“I can’t say enough about the seniors on this football team,” said Fort Frye head coach Eric Huck, in his 11th season. “They love this game, they are tremendous competitors and I am very proud of them.”

The win provided the Cadet seniors with an unblemished PVC record as they went a perfect 18-for-18 in conference games over the past four years.

Senior running back Evan Schob got the Cadets on the board first when he powered up the middle for a 32-yard touchdown run and following a two-point conversion run by fellow senior Tate Engle, Fort Frye held an 8-0 lead.

Shenandoah took a bite out of that lead midway through the second period when Kendall Sherman completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Boone Jones to cut the lead to 8-6 with 9:04 to play in the opening half.

After a 30-yard kickoff return by Zane Greenleaf gave the Cadets excellent field position at midfield, the Fort took just six plays to reach the end zone for a second time as Engle scored on a quarterback keeper to increase their lead to 16-6.

Fort Frye managed to come up with one more score before the intermission as they marched 61-yards on six plays with junior running back Tyler Fisher rambling 34-yards for a touchdown and a 22-6 lead with just over a minute to play in the half.

After the Cadets recovered a squib-kick on the ensuing kick-off it looked as if they might score yet again but the Zeps defense broke up a pair of Engle passes in the endzone to keep Fort Frye from adding to its lead.

Neither team could find the end zone in the third period but the Cadets did manage to add to their lead late when freshman David Kitts drilled a 25-yard field goal to increase the lead to 25-6.

After Fisher was forced to leave the game due to an injury late in the first half the Cadets were forced to turn to Greenleaf and the junior came through in the clutch by adding an insurance score with a five-yard touchdown sprint with five minutes to play in the game.

“It’s tough to lose a player with the talent of Fisher but Zane (Greenleaf) is explosive too and he did a heckuva job stepping up,” said Huck. “That was definitely a big key for us.”

Shenandoah made things respectable when Jones broke free on a 55-yard sprint on their next possession but it wouldn’t be near enough for the Zeps who saw their record slip to 4-5 on the season.

“Its a big win for us especially on senior night and against a good team like Shenandoah,” said Huck, whose team will look to close out a perfect regular season next Saturday at Steubenville Catholic Central. “They have been injured and were finally healthy and we knew they were a very good football team.”

Fisher and Schob led the way for the Cadets as each rushed for 95 yards in the game as they Fort tallied all but 20 of their 284 total yards on the ground.

Greenleaf added 37 yards on eight carries and also chipped in with a pair of kickoff returns that gave the Fort Frye offense outstanding field position.

The always stingy Cadet defense allowed the Zeps a grand total of 168 yards in the game with Jones leading the way with an even 100 yards on 13 carries.

The loss all but eliminates hopes the Zeps had of making the playoffs for the second season in a row while the win puts Fort Frye in position to secure another home playoff game if it can take care of business next Saturday.

The win meant the Cadets seniors including Brenden Huck, Schob, Engle, Anthony Rhodes, Hunter Stoffell, Nate Brothers, Colby Sleek, Austin Baumgartner and Draeden Turner had completed their first goal of the season.

“We always write down our goals at the beginning of the season and winning the PVC is right at the top of our list,” said Huck. “That’s awesome that they were able to accomplish that on senior night.”

Shenandoah will host Caldwell Friday night in its regular season finale.

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