SYCAMORE (Crawford County Now) — Mohawk needed to wash off the stench of last week’s loss to Seneca East. Mission accomplished.
The Warriors (9-2) made easy work of Montpelier (6-5) in the opening round of the OHSAA playoffs in Division VII, Region 26 Friday night at Warrior Field, winning 41-6.

“Last week was not who we are,” Mohawk head coach Eric Daniel said, referring to the 50-19 defeat at the hands of Northern 10 Athletic Conference and backyard rival Seneca East.

“That was our challenge to our kids. I told them I’m sick and tired of people asking me if you’re ready to play. You got to go out and show it and prove it,” he said. “There was no pouting. By Monday our kids were ready to go.”

Prove it they did, putting up a balanced offensive attack of 409 yards and getting a running clock early in the third quarter.

Kaden Bish opened things up with a 34-yard touchdown run. He rushed for 187 yards on 12 carries and added third-quarter scores of 48 and 20 yards.

The offensive line controlled the game, and the Mohawk defense forced 6 Locomotive punts and yielded just 186 total yards.

“That’s who you are, that was our focus. We have got to bring that focus and intensity every week. If we do we can compete with anybody,” Daniel said.

Bish had plenty of help with the passing game of Andon Clouse and Levi Tiell, sophomore wide receiver.

The duo connected on 5 passes for 182 yards. Tiell’s 51-yard reception put Mohawk ahead 14-0 after one quarter and his 11-yard catch closed the Warriors scoring in the third quarter.

Owen Patrizi added a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He and Bish also wreaked havoc from their linebacker spots.

“Bish, he’s a dude, man. The thing is he’s getting better every week. Now he has confidence and he knows it takes three or four guys to take him down,” Daniel said. “When he runs with that violence, there’s not too many people who want to tackle that. I sure as heck wouldn’t want to.”
Montpelier, after a two-hour bus ride, couldn’t get untracked offensively. Their first five possessions resulted in four punts and one turnover on downs, thanks to the stingy Mohawk defense.

Quarterback Hayden Sharps passed for 136 yards on 15 completions but never could complete a deep ball. Their longest gain was 22 yards to senior Jaxon Stahler.

The ground and air attack combination kept Montpelier off balance. Bish broke tackle after tackle and Tiell made the Locos’ defense look like Swiss cheese catching passes in the middle and on the outside, in averaging 36.4 yards per catch.

“Our offensive line did an excellent job tonight, blocking their path and communicating. Great team effort,” Daniel said.
“Offensive coordinator Zach (Hawkins) does a great job. Levi does great to high point the ball and getting open.”

On the defensive side, fundamentals were the key.

“Kids were disciplined. They stayed in their lanes, and we were sound on the back end. We did not tackle well last week. We want to fix that and keep it fixed and don’t give up chunk yardage.”

Daniel said Mason Schimpf did a good job defending Wesley Hartsock, holding the Locomotives’ top receiver to 43 yards on 6 catches.

Leipsic (9-1) hosts Mohawk next Friday night in the second round.

“Big one. They’re a great football team and have had our number. In 2018 they beat us 40-14. The following year it was 30-8,” Daniel said.
“They’re a great program. But we’re excited to go play them. We’re not scared of anybody when we play like this. We are capable of great things if we stay locked in.”

Box score

Score by quarters

Montpelier     0           0          0         6 — 6

Mohawk        14         7          20         0 — 41

Scoring summary

First quarter

M — Kaden Bush 34 run (Aden Patrizi kick), 5:35.

M — Levi Tiell 51 pass from Andon Clouse (Patrizi kick), 1:31.

Second quarter

M — Owen Patrizi 3 run (Aden Patrizi kick), 7:33.

Third quarter

M — Bish 48 run (Patrizi kick), 11:50.

M — Bish 20 run (Patrizi kick), 8:57.

M — Tiell 11 pass from Clouse (kick failed), 1:59.

Fourth quarter

MP — Jacob Lyons 13 pass from Hayden Sharps (kick failed), 1:59.

Individual statistics

Passing

Montpelier: Hayden Sharps 15-24-0 136; Mohawk: Andon Clouse 6-9-1 187.

Rushing

Montpelier: Carter Meek 19-47, Hayden Sharps 5-3; Mohawk: Kaden Bush 12-187, Andon Clouse 5-18, Mason Schimpf 1-14, Owen Patrizi 1-3.

Receiving

Montpelier: Jaxon Stahler 4-45, Wesley Hartstock 6-43, Jacob Lyons 3-23, Carter Meek 1-15, Braylon Hopper; Mohawk: Levi Tiell 5-182, Brant Kirian 1-5.

Team statistics

MP               M

First downs                   7                   9

Rushing                     22-50         19-222

Passes                        15-24-0         6-9-1

Yards passing             136                187

Total yards                  186               409

Fumbles-lost               0-0               0-0

Punts                           6-34.0        1-35.0

Penalties                       6-47            3-30