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SHADYSIDE - Coach Mike Kernik's Tigers have come out roaring in the first three games of the season and Friday night was no different as Shadyside welcomed Buckeye Local to Tigertown.
Senior Jayden Johnson racked up 111 rushing yards, 75 passing yards and was responsible for five touchdowns, all in less than two quarters of play, and the defense and special teams were once again spot on as the Tigers blasted the Panthers by a 61-6 margin at Fleming Field.
With the win Shadyside improved to 3-0 on the young season while Buckeye is winless in three tries.
"I have already say it and I'll say it again, these kids want to get back to where this program is," Kernik said. "They want this so much, you can see it in their eyes in the locker room and you can see it in practice. They just want to play football."
Friday night the Tigers did just that, in every phase of the game. The defense forced five fumbles, recovering four, and special teams forced two more and recovered them, with the Panthers losing four bobbles in the first quarter along.
Shadyside racked up 358 yards of total offense while Buckeye Local finished with 64 yards, 59 of those coming on a third-quarter run.
The Tigers got things going with a two-yard Johnson run at 8:58 following a Panthers' miscue. Hunter Ramsey's PAT made it 7-0. Ramsey kicked seven PATs on the night but missed his first of the season on a block. He is now 21-22 on extra-points.
Another fumble produced a five-play, 37-yard drive with Johnson finding junior Michael Hendershot with a leaping catch in the endzone just over a minute later to make it 14-0. Buckeye Local then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, with it taking seven plays to 35 yards for Johnson to finish off with a four-yard run to push it to 20-0.
A Panthers' punt and a fourth fumble of the quarter, this one also on the kickoff, made it 34-0 at the end of one. Junior Colt Cook raced in from three yards away and Johnson added his third rushing score of the frame from 18 yards away.
In all, the Tigers scored five touchdowns in the final 8:58 of the first quarter.
Freshman Logan Cather added a two-yard bust in the second quarter before Johnson went eight yards for another score. After another miscue freshman quarterback Ace Ongley launched an absolute bullet deep down the far sideline that Hendershot hauled in for a 49-yard score.
Panthers' senior quarterback Tyler Schubert broke off a 59-yard run with 4:55 for their only score as the two-point try failed.
The final score of the night was a one-yard run from another freshman, Jonah Klug, with the kick sailing wide.
"These kids just don't care what you ask them to do, it's 100-percent or it's nothing," Kernik added. "This has been exciting and fun so far, and this team is seeing all the excitement in school and the town, and they are just feeding off of it. We definitely have some momentum, and I am so proud of these guys."
As for the defense allowing just 64 yards, with 59 of those coming on one run, Kernik added, "Defense is all about pride and we have so much of that. We pour everything into defense, and we have been swarming the ball. Our defensive and offensive lines have been phenomenal and our playmakers just go out and get it done.
"It's truly phenomenal to be 3-0 at this point," Kernik said with a smile. "These kids are getting a taste of the other side and finding out that success is contagious."