HARRISON, Ohio — Talawanda football coach Larry Cox looked toward the Talwanda seating section Friday night and triumphantly pumped his fist.
The Brave defeated host Harrison 17-7 in a Southwest Ohio Conference opener for both teams this season.
"That was a great win for the kids," Cox told WCPO. "I mean, No. 1, with everything else that is going on it's just fun to watch kids enjoy winning."
Friday night marked the first time since 1995 that Talawanda defeated Harrison, according to Talawanda athletic director Wes Cole.
"What a great win for the players and coaches," Cole told WCPO. "So excited for them. Our kids are such good kids and have worked hard to get to this point. Twenty-five years is a long time. I'm glad we got that one tonight."
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Talwanda junior running back Deondre Bothast-Revalee rushed 23 times for 170 yards and a touchdown. He also had a 42-yard receiving touchdown in the first quarter.
Talawanda led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Bothast-Revalee has 39 carries for 286 yards in two games for the Brave (2-0) this season.
The Brave had 347 yards of total offense. Senior quarterback Braden Wright was 8 of 12 passing for 108 yards and a 42-yard pass connection to Bothast-Revalee in the first quarter.
Sophomore running back Austin Hurst had 16 carries 77 yards.
"It was truly a team win," Cox said.
Junior linebacker Davis Williams had five tackles while senior linebacker Jonathan Richter had four tackles.
Harrison won meetings between the progams in at least the past eight consecutive seasons, according to the SWOC website.
Harrison senior defensive lineman Masyn Dallio had a game-high 11 tackles Friday night. Junior quarterback Mason Young scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Wildcats (0-2),
Friday night marked the first varsity football game at the renovated Wildcat Stadium.
The renovation project was led by the Harrison Athletic Boosters with the goal of providing the community a state-of-the-art space to learn, grow, develop and compete.
Harrison High School was awarded a $250,000 grant from the Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football League Foundation Grassroots Program in January to help with the new synthetic turf field.
Harrison plays host to Mount Healthy Sept. 11. Talawanda plays host to Ross Sept. 11.
