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CHILLICOTHE — Welcome to the show, Isaac Coy.
Replacing the most prolific passer in school history can be a daunting challenge. But Unioto’s sophomore signal caller handled himself like a senior in his debut.
Coy finished the night 10-of-12 passing for 220 yards and four touchdowns, leading Unioto to a one-sided 45-8 pounding of Vinton County on Friday.
“I definitely have to give credit to the offensive line for leading me and helping me get through the first game,” Coy said. “It wasn’t easy for sure, but having receivers on the outside like Blake [Hoops], Caden [Cutright] and Jaxon [Zickafoose], they’re easy targets to hit and complete passes to.”
CREDIT: Cindy Hoops/SOSA
However, Coy’s coming out party wasn’t the only cause for celebration.
After watching his older brother, Newton, set records last season, it was Blake Hoops’ turn to join the history books at the beginning of 2024.
With two touchdown catches, Hoops became the school’s all-time leader in receiving touchdowns at 21 … and counting.
“I’ve had it in the back of my mind that I was getting pretty close to those records,” Hoops said. “It’s something pretty cool to do and I definitely couldn’t do it without this guy [Coy] throwing a perfect pass and putting it right on the money. So it’s pretty special.”
TAKING CENTER STAGE
Unioto (1-0) opened the game with the ball, and threw an early haymaker.
Tye Woods tiptoed his way down the sideline for a 53-yard gain, and two plays later, Coy found Hoops for a seven-yard touchdown pass to put the Tanks ahead 7-0.
Vinton County (0-1) got a stop on the next Sherman drive before Unioto attempted a fake punt play on fourth down, only for the pass to be intercepted by Clayton Lester. He was taken down at Unioto’s two-yard line, giving VC a golden scoring opportunity.
However, the Shermans’ defense was up for the challenge.
The Vikings were stopped on first, second and third downs, and faced 4th & 1 from the one-yard line. However, they committed a false start that backed them up five yeards before being stuffed on the next play and turning the ball over on downs.
Two plays later, Coy showed his accuracy and threw a dot to a wide open Caden Cutright for a 90-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
“I don’t think it gave us momentum as much as it was deflating for them. We were just going to pick up right where we left off when we turned the ball over, and I love that we have that mentality,” Unioto coach Matt Hoops said. “If they score and tie the game 7-7, who knows how that changes the game possibly. Our guys deserve a lot of credit for stepping up, answering the bell and doing things the right way.”
It was all Shermans moving forward, too.
After a 32-yard field goal from Liam Mathey, Coy continued his night with two more touchdown passes, one on a five-yard strike to Jaxon Zickafoose and another on a one-yard jump ball to Blake Hoops, which entered him into the record books.
James Rinehart and Yusef Wilson also scored a rushing touchdown each before Vinton County got on the board late in the game with a 15-yard touchdown connection from Jase Moore to Brandon Matteson.
“You never know what you’re going to get in Week 1, and I’m really happy with how they made a statement out of the gates,” Matt Hoops said. “We got a big defensive stop, we did a nice job controlling the ball and our guys ran it very well. They stepped up and made plays on both sides of the ball when they had to, which is exactly what you want to see as a coach.”
STAT BOOK
Following Coy’s final numbers, Hoops finished with four catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns while Cutright also had three catches for 154 yards and a score.
Rinehart ran the ball six times for 74 yards and a score, Wilson had seven carries for 54 yards and a touchdown, and Zickafoose had a touchdown catch.
For Vinton County, Jase Moore finished 7-of-9 passing for 64 yards and a touchdown.
UP NEXT
Unioto returns to action next week at Amanda-Clearcreek while Vinton County opens at home against Circleville.
“We didn’t force any turnovers, but on the other side of that, we had a lot of fourth down stops and that’s just as valuable,” Matt Hoops said. “I felt like our guys that have been under the Friday Night Lights before led by example and made plays. They made it easy for the guys who hadn’t been in this spot before to ease in and get comfortable, and anytime that happens, you give yourself a good chance to win.”
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