Tribe hits quick in 44-7 victory

FORT RECOVERY — In the beginning of their quest for the Midwest Athletic Conference title, the Indians fell behind.
Their deficit lasted all of 21 seconds.
After a 63-yard Parkway run put the Fort Recovery High School football team down 7-6 Friday, Caleb Martin connected with Robby LeFevre on a 60-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the ensuing drive. It was all Indians after that as they rolled to a 44-7 victory over the Panthers in their conference opener.
FRHS (3-0, 1-0 MAC) racked up 447 yards of total offense, typically on quick-hitting drives. It held the ball for only 13 minutes, 7 seconds, and six of its seven scoring drives were seven plays or fewer.
In addition to the one-play strike from Martin to LeFevre, Will Homan went 84-yards on the ground for a touchdown to cap a three-play drive in the first quarter. It was the biggest run on a big day for Homan, who surpassed the 150-yard mark by halftime and finished with 178 yards and three TDs on 18 carries.
The Indians were up 25-7 at halftime and limited Parkway to just 50 yards of offense in the second half.
As strong was Homan was on the ground, Martin was just as impressive through the air, completing 18 of his 25 passing attempts for 251 yards. He tossed for three touchdowns, adding a 9-yard fade to Payton Jutte (six catches, 51 yards) in the second quarter and a 20-yard pass to Ryan Braun (five catches, 52 yards) in the third.
LeFevre added the other score, his second of the game, with a 34-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
Parkway, which remains winless at 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the MAC, got its only score when Nick Hawk took a pitch from quarterback Andrew Baker around the left side, juked a would-be tackler and hustled down the sideline for the 63-yard score. He led the Panthers with 64 yards rushing, while Baker added 53 yards on 19 attempts.
Baker struggled through the air, going 3-of-14 with Homan picking off one of his passes.
Homan also led the FRHS defense in tackles with 12, and Ethan Schoen followed with 11. Cashaus Metzger also had an interception, and Andrew Stocker came up with a fumble recovery to go along with his nine tackles.
The Indians will face a big MAC challenge next week when they travel to Coldwater (2-1, 0-1 MAC), a team they have never beaten.