'West Holmes is the standard around here': Knights roll over Triway in season opener
MONROE TWP. — West Holmes displayed its depth in the receiving corps with three different players on the receiving end of touchdown tosses in a 41-7 thrashing of Triway in the season opener Friday at Knights Stadium for its 22nd straight regular-season win.
Senior receiver Kyle Maltarich, the reigning Daily Record Player of the Year, made his mark on the first play from scrimmage, taking a swing pass from Morgan Smith and scampering 75 yards for a score. Alex Pringle's conversion kick was blocked and the Knights led 6-0, 19 seconds into the game.
The Titans fumbled on their first offensive play, and the Knights were back in business at the Triway 39-yard line. Six plays later, Smith found senior Nate Fair wide open for a 13-yard scoring strike. Pringle's PAT made it 13-0 West Holmes at the 9:00 mark of the first quarter.
"We know that West Holmes is the standard around here, and that's where we're trying to get our program," said first-year Triway coach Cody Kelly. "We've got a long way to go ahead. We started off here a little slow, but we've got to keep building and getting better. We've just got to focus on us. A lot of the stuff tonight is fixable. A lot of it was self-inflicted."
Triway got on the board on a 26-yard touchdown connection from senior quarterback Luke Snowbarger to Cale Drown, capping a seven-play, 75-yard drive. Drew Bishko tacked on the conversion kick and the Titans trailed 13-7 with 1:28 to play in the opening frame.
On the next offensive series, the entire crowd at Knights Stadium held its collective breath when Maltarich couldn't get up after a short reception, his sixth of the game in the first quarter.
He was helped off the field, possibly seeing his senior season end before it really got started. He caught six balls for 114 yards.
"I can't even begin to tell you what was going through my mind," said Maltarich, who is committed to play college football at Yale. "This sucks for me, but I couldn't be happier for my team, the way the other guys stepped up. I've been through this before (hip surgery his sophomore season). Hopefully I'll be back before too long."
With their star sidelined, Smith turned to his alternate receivers, hitting tight end Jack Marmet for a short completion, then sophomore Lynn Cline for 23 yards. Mixing in some runs Zach Shepler, Elijah Williams-Dixon and a couple keepers by Smith, the Knights scored nine plays later, as Smith carried it the final 3 yards for a six. He hit Fair for the two-point conversion, and West Holmes led 21-7 midway through the second quarter.
After the West Holmes defense forced a three-plays-and-punt drive, the junior quarterback engineered a 17-play, 82-yard drive, capping it off with a 23-yard scoring strike to Cline with 11 seconds remaining in the first half. The Knights led 27-7 at intermission.
"I can just throw it anywhere, and they'll go and catch it," Smith said. "Everyone knows what they're supposed to do, and they just stepped up and made plays."
Smith finished his first varsity start completing 23 of 33 passes for 302 yards and three scores.
Cline scored on an 11-yard run, and Logan Zollars added a 17-yard scoring round out the scoring for West Holmes.
Senior linebacker Gus Warner liked the way his teammates stepped up after Maltarich went down.
"Our coaches put together an amazing game plan," Warner said. "We live for these Friday nights, and this is what it all comes down to.
"Obviously, Kyle is a big part of our team," Warner continued. "He's an amazing player, and it sucks to lose someone like that. But Coach (Zach Gardner) always preaches overcoming adversity. That's what we did tonight. Kyle went down, and it was next man up. We had some other players step up and make plays for the team when we needed it most."
The sophomore Cline was one of those players. He finished with five catches for 51 yards and a score, and junior Logan Zollars added five catches for 58 yards. Seven different players were on the receiving end of Smith aerials.
Gardner was pleased with the way his troops responded after Maltarich went down.
"I'm proud of the perseverance and toughness that our kids showed dealing with the adversity we faced tonight," Gardner said. "We had a lot of kids step up. Our kids did a great job adjusting both offensively and defensively when we lost a player like that. That's a testament to our program, and to our kids and the development of our players."
The coach commended the play of his junior quarterback, who also rushed for 88 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown, to go with his 302 passing yards and three scores.
"Morgan has done everything we've asked him to do in terms of preparation, practice, and it's his turn," Gardner said. "We're very proud to have No. 12 behind center now."
Gardner also praised the play of his defense, which forced a couple of fumbles and limited a pair of Triway passers to 10-of-24 passing for 98 yards. Luke Snowbarger completed 8-of-19 for 86 yards and a touchdown, while Luke Starr hit two of five passes for 21 yards. The Titans managed only 13 yards rushing on 19 attempts.
"Our defense held us in there while we figured it out offensively with some new personnel in there," he said. It was good to see us forcing some turnovers, which has been a point of emphasis throughout the preseason."
The Knights host Orrville next Friday while Triway travels to Marengo Highland.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Football: West Holmes beats Triway 41-7 in Week 1 rivalry game
