Alva Review-Courier -

The Alva Goldbugs' defense put on a show against the No. 8 of Class A football, the Thomas Terriers, on Friday night to get their second win of the season, completely shutting out the Terriers 42-0.

Although Alva started the game with possession, they didn't get their first score of the night until the Terriers' second possession of the game.

Starting on their 17-yard line with 6:02 to go in the first, Thomas was able to get all the way to the 37 on five plays, but the possession was cut short. On a third-down with three yards to go, Thomas quarterback Trabor Mannering was taken down by Alva defensive end Grant Ritter, but not before being stripped of the ball for the fumble. Hayden Colwell was there to gather the ball and ran back to get the Goldbugs their first defensive touchdown of the night with the score at 7-0.

Just two plays into Thomas's third possession of the game and Alva forced another fumble, this time by Ethan Harzman who was able to get the recovery and run the ball the way into the end zone to put the score at 14-0.

To rub more salt in the wound, Harzman forced yet another fumble on the Terrier's first play of the drive against their running back Nick Roof. T.W. Beiswanger was there to pounce on the ball and give Alva their possession on Thomas's 15-yard line.

It took four plays, but Alva quarterback Mitchell Meyer finally found the end zone on a fourth and 11 as Beiswanger made a leaping catch for the touchdown and a 20-0 lead.

Alva scored once more before halftime as they marched all the way from their 20-yard line for a three-yard rushing touchdown from Austin Shklar – who was used sparingly at the running back position all night due to knee swelling against Blackwell last week. That touchdown put the Goldbugs up 26-0 with a commanding lead over the Terriers going into halftime.

The Goldbugs had another big rushing touchdown in their first possession of the second half as Davion Murrow swept left for the hand-off and found a hole in the Thomas defense along the sideline to get the 56-yard touchdown – their biggest offensive play of the night.

Alva's final touchdown of the night came on Thomas's follow-up possession as the Terriers decided to go for it on a fourth-and-inches, but Mannering fumbled on the snap as Ritter recovered the ball and led a horde of Goldbugs all the way into the end zone to put the score at 38-0.

Although that was Alva's final touchdown of the night, they weren't finished putting points on the board. On the kick return, Thomas's Dylon Castillo dropped the ball, which was quickly reversed by Alva's Samuel Toone. Alva wasn't able to get a touchdown out of the possession, but Colwell gave Thomas a tough field position as he punted the ball all the way to their four-yard line. A delay-of-game penalty from Thomas put them on their two-yard line, and lineman Daniel Toone responded by sacking Mannering inside the end zone to get a safety and two points.

The Goldbugs ended the game with one more safety to get a 42-0 shutout victory over the Terriers.

Stats

Leslie Nation

Ethan Harzman (pictured far right) and Samuel Toone (40) trap Thomas running back Nick Roof (40) in the back field while Harzman strips the ball away for a fumble.

Meyer was the leading rusher for the Goldbugs, as Alva focused heavily on the running game, finishing the night with 82 yards on 10 carries. Meyer also picked up one passing touchdown to Beiswanger in the first half. Murrow was the second leading rusher with 53 yards on three carries and one touchdown. Shklar finished the night with 21 yards on nine attempts and a touchdown. Freshman quarterback Stephen Willyard came in late for the Goldbugs to get 15 rushing yards on three carries as the win was sealed.

The Goldbugs were 8-and-19 through the air for 57 yards with one touchdown and one interception, giving them 221 yards for their total offense.

The Goldbugs defense held the Terriers' offense under 100 yards for the night. Harzman had a big night with two forced fumbles and one recovery for a touchdown. Ritter was another big contributor forcing one fumble and recovering a fumbled snap late in the game for a defensive touchdown.

The Goldbugs will be on the road for the next three games as they start their road trip against Oklahoma Baptist Academy on Sept. 9, with the kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.