Ontario pitches second consecutive shutout for first time since 2003 in win over Madison

ONTARIO — The Ontario Warriors know their current predicament all too well.

After beating the Madison Rams 38-0 on Friday night, the Warriors improved to 3-0 for the second consecutive year after not seeing that record to start a season since 2011. Last year, the Warriors started undefeated before going 3-4 down the stretch in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play including a four-game losing streak after starting 3-0.

But last year is in the past and this year is this year.

"I feel like we are further ahead than we were last year," Ontario junior quarterback Bodpegn Miller said. "Our defense has stepped up since last season, our line is playing much better and giving me a ton of time. The routes are crisper. Everyone is in a great spot this year and now, we just have to finish in league play."

Miller definitely did his part on Friday night to make sure to set the tone for the rest of the season. He went 16-for-24 for 192 yards passing with three touchdowns while running for 45 yards and a score. He connected with nine different receivers including Peyton Dzugan, who caught the game's first TD pass on a 28-yard strike. Miller also connected with Dylan Floyd for a 15-yarder and Jon Mahon for an 18-yarder. Floyd led all receivers with five catches for 60 yards, but Miller made sure to get everyone involved.

"It is amazing to be able to trust multiple guys on any given play," Miller said. "But there is always work to do and we will continue to work on that connection in practice so when we get the chance in a game, we can take advantage."

Ontario coach Aaron Eckert also made sure to get everyone involved as the Warriors saw 10 different ball carriers as they racked up 145 yards on the ground led by Chase Studer with 72 yards including a three-yard score.

"We have so many guys who can really play," Eckert said. "When you have 21 seniors and 14 juniors, practices are very competitive and it is tough to make sure everyone gets the touches you want them to get, but tonight, we did a pretty good job of spreading the ball around. We have a lot of skill guys and it was good to see all of the different guys who touched the ball."

Madison suffered its second straight shutout loss after falling to River Valley last week 42-0. The Rams had just 115 yards of offense and never forced a single punt from the Warriors all night. Madison coach Brent Besancon hopes to see his offensive and defensive unit working together more.

"Offensively, we just aren't giving our defense a chance whatsoever," Besancon said. "We are missing too many tackles on defense to have an anemic offense without consistency. Turning this around will start up front. We have to find consistency."

Freshman Drew Brooks took some snaps at quarterback in the fourth quarter and showed some moxie with 29 rushing yards on six carries, tops on the team.

"He has run the ball very well for us and we are looking for anyone who can help us move the football," Besancon said.

Defensively, it all comes down to one simple thing for the Rams.

"Tackling," Besancson said. "It all comes down to tackling. There were times we had them third and eight and they ran a simple screen or a sweep and we didn't make the tackle when we needed to. In today's game, we have to tackle in space."

The Rams (0-3) head into Ohio Cardinal Conference play next week at Wooster. With a tough schedule ahead, Besancon, a first-year coach at Madison, is looking to keep his unit together for a common goal.

"From the start, the main focus was just keeping these guys together," Besancon said. "Tonight, I feel like we did a really good job of staying together and not pointing fingers. The body language was hurt, but there wasn't a ton of negative body language on the sideline. That is a credit to our staff and our seniors.

"Mental toughness is something that is key, but is hard to get when you are getting beat down. We only have seven seniors, so those guys have to make sure we stay together and help us build our mental toughness."

Ontario is playing some of its best football in the first three weeks out-scoring opponents a combined 90-14 as the defense has two consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2003 when they won four straight games via the goose egg. Last week was their first shutout win since beating Vermilion 62-0 in the first round of the 2020 state playoffs.

"Everything is feeling really good," Miller said. "The defense is on a different level. We used to give up big plays, but we aren't seeing that this year and our coaches are putting together some impressive game plans. They are setting us up for success."

Eckert knew the effort was all won in the trenches.

"Our kids played extremely hard tonight and we challenged our kids all week to do that," Eckert said. "Madison is physically bigger than us and we had to play well up front in order to win and we took the mindset that games are won and lost up front. Our big guys carried us."

Now, the Warriors head into Week 4 at home against River Valley as they open up MOAC play and every week is a must-win in a league where it seems any team is capable of winning the championship. Eckert sees this year's team as one ready for the challenge.

"Last year, we won three really close games to get to 3-0 and not having been in that position in a little bit was a challenge," Eckert said. "So, tonight, I told the kids that we have been here before and we don't want what happened last year where we lost some close games to happen again. It is all about showing up tomorrow, learning from tonight and get better for River Valley next week."

And he will lean heavily on the leaders of the team like Miller, Studer, Grasen Bias, Brayden Robinson among others.

"It will be huge," Eckert said. "Any time you have veteran leadership that in practice tell their teammates that everyone needs to pick it up. It is different when it comes from those guys compared to me. I always want more and more and more but when those guys demand more in practice, it puts us in a much better spot. I am proud that those older guys expect more out of practices because it carries over to Friday nights."

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ontario Warriors beat Madison Rams in Richland County High School Footbal