JV Tiger football begins Homecoming week with blow out

Special Edition to the Express
The Red Oak Tiger JV football team played host to the Clarinda Cardinals on Monday night at Russ Benda Field.  The young Tiger squad was able to protect its home turf to start off Homecoming week by defeating the Cardinals 38-0 and improving their overall record to 2-0.  The Tigers started the game with a three and out on the defensive side of the ball to force a punt.  The home team wasted no time in scoring as Justin McCunn took a handoff to the end zone on the first offensive play.  The Tigers were successful on the 2-point conversion attempt to make the score 8-0 early in the game.
 “I felt that we were able to control the line of scrimmage early in the game and set the tone for the ball game,” Coach Nate Rouse said. “The offensive line, made up of Liam Mahoney, Ethan Clark, Cole Carlson, Thomas Shipley, and Colton Kinnison did a great job of sustaining blocks, and our backs were able to make the proper reads for big plays.”   
The Tigers used the early momentum and rolled to a 30-0 lead at the half.  Luke Mellott, Jake Echternach, and Carter Maynes all found pay dirt for the Tigers.  Lost in all of the offense by the Tigers, is the outstanding performance of the defensive group, led by Cam Pryor, Justin McCunn, Zac Guerra, Dillon Burns, and Brandon Conn.
 “Our kids did an outstanding job defensively tonight.  Clarinda is always difficult to match up with because they are known for their size and physicality, but I thought our kids flew around and made plays all night,” Coach Nick Crouse said. “I was especially proud of the communication that our kids had between the different offensive looks Clarinda threw at us. It was a lot of fun to watch.”
Red Oak had big plays on the defensive side of the ball as well, with Zac Guerra and Dillon Burns both forcing and recovering fumbles in the game.
“Anytime you face a big and physical program like Clarinda, you must maintain leverage up front, and force turnovers.  I thought Brandon Conn, Cole Carlson, and Dillon Burns had a phenomenal night, and defensively added to the big plays Zac and Dillon forced,” Crouse said. “ Justin McCunn and Cam Pryor had great nights at the linebacker position and were flying around.”
Both coaches add that there is still a lot of work to do, but are very pleased with how far this group has come in the short time together, and look forward to continuing to improve week after week.
The top scorer for the Tigers was Maynes with two touchdowns. Echternach, McCunn and Mellott each added a touchdown. Guerra and Burns each had a fumble recovery to help the Tigers to victory.