MARION — River Valley wanted a fast start. What the Vikings experienced was an NHRA Top Fuel dragster blastoff from the line.
The Vikings had the ball for just 71 seconds in their first two drives and led their rival by two touchdowns.
"Today we were just dialed from the get-go," River Valley senior linebacker Tyson Waddle said. "Everybody at school knew what we had to do. We wanted to be the team that never loses to the Spartans in our high school career and that really motivated us today."
River Valley used that momentum to cruise to a 35-0 victory at Pleasant Friday night in a Week 5 football game in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference.
What happened at the start?
Pleasant committed three straight penalties to start the game, giving RV 35 yards in its first series that ended 52 seconds from the opening kick with Chase Ebert hitting Luke Axline with a 13-yard jump ball in the end zone.
The Spartans (3-2, 1-1) followed with a long drive that ate more than seven minutes off the clock, but Axline picked off a pass in the end zone. Axline followed on the next play with a 23-yard catch on the sideline where Pleasant was flagged for a late hit, giving RV 15 more yards. Next Ebert found Kolton Lang with a 42-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
"We talked all week about coming off the bus," Ebert said. "Before the game, everybody was locked in. We knew what was at stake. It was Pleasant week, and everybody prepared and took care of business."
High School Football Central: Find complete coverage of the 2024 Marion-area season here
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How did RV finish the first half?
From 14-0 with 3:47 left in the first quarter, it never got better for Pleasant.
Lang and Ebert hooked up again for a 12-yard TD pass, then Eli Snyder made a 10-yard touchdown grab with 6:49 left in the second period.
After forcing an incomplete pass at midfield with 1:11 to go in the half, River Valley (3-2, 1-1) quickly moved it up the field before Lang made his third touchdown catch of the game, hauling one in from 20 yards and a 35-0 lead, which made for a running clock in the second half.
"Anytime you’re on the road, you want to get off to a good start, and I felt like we did that tonight. The games that we lost I felt that’s part of the reasons we lost those games is because we didn’t get off to good starts and shot ourselves in the foot. Tonight, I didn’t feel like we did that. I thought we played a pretty clean game. I still feel like we left some plays out there, but the kids played hard all night," RV coach Matt Waddle said.
What was Pleasant's feeling afterward?
The Spartans finished with 10 penalties for 90 yards, completing 13 of 24 for 100 yards and running for 105 yards on 33 carries.
"I just told them that’s a good, old-fashioned beatdown," Pleasant coach C.J. Westler said. "There’s really no other way to describe it. I told them there is no need to watch that film because I already know what happened. We’re not even going to watch it. We’re going to move forward and see what we can do in the next five weeks. I told them as bad as it feels, the good thing is it’s only one night. We have to move on and get better."
Who stood out Friday night?
Ebert was 18-for-39 passing for 283 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Lang ended with five receptions for 96 yards, including the three TDs, while Axline had four catches for 58 yards, a touchdown and the interception on defense. Eli Snyder added four catches for 57 and a score. The Vikings only ran two designed running plays all night.
Drew Neiderhouser ended with 64 yards on the ground for Pleasant with 45 of those yards coming in the second half. Teammate Dillon Burns finished with five catches for 37 yards.
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: 'Dialed in from the get-go:' River Valley blasts off against Pleasant in rivalry game
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