ST. LEON, Ind. — East Central High School senior Dylan Maxwell couldn't help but smile on the football field late Friday night. But, there was no doubt he was exhausted.
"I was dead at the end of the game," said Maxwell, a linebacker and running back. "I cramped off twice. I was just doing my best."
The Trojans played their best in a 38-28 win over visiting Moeller in front of a sold-out crowd at Trojan Field.
"I've never beat Moeller before," said Maxwell, who played offense in a game for the first time since his sophomore year on junior varsity.
"Definitely a great experience. Moving forward it's a great win for the team, great win for the program. Beating a GCL team like that — very impressive and it was awesome."
The Trojans, the 2022 Indiana Class 4A state champion, defeated Moeller for the first time since the 2020 season. The storied programs met Friday night for the fourth consecutive season. The teams plan to meet again in 2024.
East Central coach Jake Meiners reminded the Trojans in the pregame speech Friday night that they worked for several months in preparing for Moeller.
"You can do it," Meiners told the team before the game. "The guys in this room have prepared for this moment, prepared for this opportunity that you can go out and do something."
The first day of September was certainly circled on the calendar.
"The way we do things — the way we prepare — we got to be confident in ourselves and believe in ourselves," Meiners said after the game. "I think half the battle is to get the young men to believe in themselves and they did. There is a quiet confidence about this group. They came out and believed in themselves. That obviously led to a victory tonight."
East Central senior running back Josh Ringer was named the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown most valuable player. Ringer, who is verbally committed to Miami University, had 26 carries for 246 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught a first-quarter touchdown pass.
Ringer said this week the Trojans are ahead of where they were a year ago.
"I just feel like our team understands the concepts we're running better and we're just more together as a team I feel like," Ringer said.
Maxwell had 10 carries for a career-high 174 yards rushing and a touchdown. That included a 67-yard run early in the second quarter.
"I just turned the corner and there was open space," Maxwell said. "I think it was the fastest I've ever ran before. It was awesome."
East Central rushed for 484 yards as a team which was the fourth-most for a single game in school history, according to East Central statistician Andrew Shaver. The Trojans operated with a double wing offense that was very physical with a strong offensive line.
"It's easy when you have the best offensive line in the state," Maxwell said. "You just got to run ball. It's all natural. You're not doing anything special out there."
Moeller coach Bert Bathiany said the Crusaders studied some versions of the option on film but it's difficult to replicate East Central's offense in practice.
"If you don't rep stuff like that over and over again — it's just you can't simulate the speed especially with the scout team," Bathiany said.
"When teams have teams like that on the schedule they study them in the offseason and they're looking ahead. It's a big deal. So you're trying to roll with it. I'm really disappointed obviously in what happened. We didn't stop him (Ringer) at all. It was bad. We got to get better. We have to look ourselves in the mirror."
Moeller sophomore quarterback Matt Ponatoski threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Roman Mason had five receptions for 117 yards and three touchdowns. Senior running back Jordan Marshall (Michigan commit) had 15 carries for 113 yards. He caught a 23-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
Moeller senior defensive lineman Jewett Hayes (Virginia commit) had a game-high 12 tackles.
East Central (3-0) plays at Franklin County (2-1) Sept. 8 while Moeller (1-2) plays at Center Grove (2-1), a program in Greenwood, Indiana.
Bathiany said it's a quick turnaround but he wants the Crusaders to be focused on themselves first and foremost.
"When we play our best brand of ball we're a really, really good football team," Bathiany said. "I know the talent we have in that locker room. I know the type of guys we have in that locker room. I have nothing but confidence and faith in them. We got to put it all together better."
RECORD NIGHT
Reading senior running back Austin Fancher had 21 carries for 366 yards and eight touchdowns in a 70-7 win over host Summit Country Day.
Fancher set a single-game school record with the eight touchdowns. He surpassed former NFL player DeShawn Wynn's school record of seven touchdowns. Wynn is now an assistant coach on the Wyoming High School coaching staff.
Fancher, who had six touchdowns at halftime, will enter the Ohio High School Athletic Association record book for most touchdowns in a game, too.
"Austin is a super kid," Reading coach Luke Cripe said. "He's an honor roll student. He never misses school. Any coach would love to coach Austin. He's a great kid."
Reading's 70 points is tied for third in program history for most points in a game. The team broke the school record with 72 points against Lockland in 2022.
NEWS AND NOTES
- Oak Hills defeated Colerain 21-14 for the Highlanders' first win this season. It is the Highlanders' first win over Colerain since the 1992 season, according to Oak Hills coach Justin Roden.
- Vote for the WCPO 9 Player of the Week here.
- Lakota West started junior Sam Wiles at quarterback Friday night as the Firebirds defeated host Fairfield 33-0. Lakota West coach Tom Bolden said it was one of the more rewarding winshe's had in his career.
- Elder senior quarterback Ryan Brass scored two touchdowns in the first quarter as the host Panthers defeated Springboro 28-7. Elder (2-1) plays host to Lakewood St. Edward (2-0) Sept. 9. St. Ed's, the two-time reigning Division I state champion, is ranked No. 11 nationally by MaxPreps.
- Milford junior quarterback Luke Brand was 34 of 46 passing for 423 yards and four total touchdowns as the Eagles defeated host Loveland 52-34. Brand rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two scores. Milford has a 3-0 record for the second straight season. The Eagles play host to Anderson (3-0) Sept. 8.
- Princeton is 3-0 for the fourth consecutive season after the Vikings defeated Lakota East 30-16. Princeton plays at Mason Sept. 8.
- Ross senior Riley Caldwell had 18 carries for 180 yards and five touchdowns in the Rams' 48-3 win over visiting Northwest.
- Beechwood has won 13 consecutive games after its 49-48 overtime win at Dixie Heights. Junior quarterback Clay Hayden was 23 of 36 passing for 479 yards and seven touchdowns. Junior Luke Erdman had seven receptions for 222 yards and three touchdowns. Beechwood (3-0) plays host to Simon Kenton (1-1) Sept. 8.
- Newport junior quarterback Kyle Lee was 13 of 20 passing for 338 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-6 win over Pendleton County. He also rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown.
- Bellevue defeated Riverview East Academy 32-22 for the Tigers' first win since Sept. 17, 2021.
