LEWISBURG — Tri-County North’s defense continues to shine, shutting out Bethel 28-0 for their 12th consecutive Cross County Conference win on Friday, Sept. 25.
The Panthers have now held opponents scoreless in nine straight quarters and seem to be firing on all cylinders as the regular season reaches the mid-way point. They also returned starting running back Garrett Woodyard into action, helping balance out their offensive attack.
“It was nice to get (Woodyard) back. We pretty much made him our workhorse and you saw what he can do. We pretty much rode him all night long. It was just great to get him back. Our offensive line did a good job blocking for him tonight,” said TCN head coach Bill Derringer. “We know that if we need that two, three, four yard gain, we can pound it into him. It’s nice on first down to get those yards. It opens up your playbook.”
North first got on the board mid-way through the first quarter, when Woodyard ran up the middle and over a few Bethel defenders on his way to a 13-yard score, putting North up 7-0.
He put the Panthers on the board again nearing the end of the half, this time from three yards out, sending North into the half up 14-0.
Woodyard scored his third and final touchdown of the night from four yards about six minutes into the second half.
The final score came off a Lane Gunder pass when he rolled out to the right before throwing to the left corner of the end zone, hooking up with Gavin Overholtz for an 11-yard score late in the third.
North’s defense only allowed Bethel 152 total yards of offense, including just one passing yard.
Woodyard finished with 25 rush attempts for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Gunder went 10-for-14 for 88 yards and a touchdown as well. He added five rushes for 61 yards as well.
Logan Elmore had six receptions for 49 yards on the night.
North is headed into the toughest part of their schedule, taking on Covington, Miami East, and Twin Valley South within the next four weeks.
“We are coming into a very, very tough stretch of our schedule. We are just going to take them one at a time and hopefully we can keep our guys healthy,” said Derringer.
First up, the Panthers will travel to Covington for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Friday, Oct. 2.
