“I feel for Talawanda,” Ross coach Brian Butts said. “I’ve been there before. Our goal was to put up some scores early and get our jayvees in there. That did not work out but I’m proud of our kids. They played hard.”
Dunn scored on runs of 32 and 11 yards in the first half. Noonan hit Brennan McGuire for a 9-yard touchdown in the second quarter and a 32-yard field goal by Corey Wigal at the gun gave the Rams a 23-0 halftime advantage.
Tyler Bridwell returned a fumble 23 yards for a score with 6:30 left in the game for the final margin.
Sawyer Johnson notched his second straight 100-yard game for the Braves with 103 on 17 carries.
Talawanda managed just 174 total yards in falling to 0-6, 0-1.
“Ross is a very physical team and the guys knew that,” Talawanda coach Mike Wright said. “We’re having a hard time making plays. We were inside the 10 and did not get a touchdown. The ball gets thrown up and we do not make the play. I appreciate the way the guys battle.”
The game marked Talawanda’s 2011 homecoming and for the Ross coach, it was a homecoming of sorts, too. Butts taught and coached at Talawanda from 1985 to 1993 and Bowers Field is special to him.
“I wanted to get a win in my last game on this field,” Butts said. “It holds a lot of memories. It’s weird knowing we’ll never play on this field again.”
Talawanda moves into a new school building next year and will be playing on a new turf field.
“I give Mike credit. He adjusted their plan. We’ve been friends for a long time,” Butts said. “(Before tonight) I’ve not beaten Mike on this field.”
Ross hosts Northwest next Friday while Talawanda will play at Norwood.
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