It was a revenge match five years in the making. After losing 28-13 to West Clermont in the Wolves' first ever football game in 2017, Princeton toppled the Wolves by a score of 43-6 Friday night in the first round of the playoffs.
It is the Vikings' second straight postseason victory over the Eastern Cincinnati Conference, and third straight season winning at least one postseason game.
"That felt great. We just had a lot of confidence to execute and keep building on," Princeton quarterback RJ West said.
West Clermont, on the other hand, dropped a fourth straight postseason contest against Greater Miami Conference opposition since the school's inception in 2017.
The Vikings, who lead the Greater Miami Conference in rushing defense at 71 yards per game, made their presence known early and often. West Clermont mustered only18 yards on 12 attempts in the first half. For the game, Bo Rickman led the Wolves with 26 yards rushing. The biggest factor was the absence of Mysaun Sanders and Zach Moats, two of the Wolves' leading rushers this season.
"We had a feeling that would be part of their game plan. When you watch them, they've been running the ball really well the second half of the year," Princeton head coach Andre Parker said.
While the Wolves couldn't find success on the ground, Bryson Earley connected with a wide-open Hayden Jones for a 60-yard score halfway through the second quarter. Earley finished with 82 passing yards.
Meanwhile, Princeton's playmakers made an impact every time they touched the ball. Riley Woods caught both of West's first-half touchdown passes, weaving in and out of tacklers on his way to 33-yard and 20-yard scores. Deandre Rutherford evaded the entire West Clermont defense on a 23-yard catch-and-run on fourth and 14.
"When you have playmakers, it just slows everything down on the field because you can just do whatever and just throw it up to them and they're going to come down with the ball," West said.
The Vikings held a 29-6 halftime lead while outgaining West Clermont 225 yards to 81 yards. That score held up throughout the third quarter as Princeton's defense continued to dominate. West, Rutherford and company had opportunities to increase the lead, but penalties killed multiple drives.
It took until the fourth quarter, but the Vikings' special teams unit finally got in on the action. Tyson Beach blocked a punt that Donya Borden recovered at West Clermont's 11-yard line. Three plays later, Beach found the end zone for his first rushing touchdown of the season.
"We've just got to keep trusting ourselves. I think we got too cocky. We just need to mellow out and just stay focused on the main goal," West said.
Seconds later, Trayvon Williams provided the cherry on top when he grabbed the fumble on a West Clermont hook-and-lateral gone wrong. His 35-yard return cemented the final score.
Princeton advances to face Lakota West, a rematch of a week five game that saw the Firebirds come away with a 31-7 win. West Clermont ends its season with a 6-5 record. They never won or lost more than two games in a row, but went 0-4 against teams with winning records.
"We've got to play every snap and we've got to play four quarters, and we've got to play smart football," Parker said.
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