Story and Photos by Jarrid McCormick, Williamson Daily News
NAUGATUCK — Tug Valley picked up a win in their season opener on Thursday night as they topped a Class AA playoff team from a season ago with a 32-21 win over Shady Spring.
The Panthers completely reversed the outcome from the 2021 contest between the two schools as the Tigers dismantled Tug Valley a year ago 42-0.
“I’m very excited about the win. We still got some improvement to do, but for us to come out and beat a preseason top 15 team in AA, that was impressive for us,” Panther coach Hady Ford said after the game. “If we can just stay focused, cut out the mental mistakes, all of the penalties, and all those little things. We can have us a pretty good football team this year.”
Tug Valley rode a grueling ground game on the night, in particular in the first half of play, as three different runners rumbled for three first half scores to take a 19-13 halftime lead.
“I worked them hard this week and that’s one of the things we worked on,” Ford said of his run game. “We got to be able to pound it down some teams throat. We do that and we get them tired it gives us the advantage and we can come out with the win.”
Adam Slone scored the first touchdown of the season for the Panthers when he powered in from five yards away. Caleb Totten’s PAT was good and Tug took a 7-0 lead with 8:31 left in the second quarter.
Head coach Vince Culicerto’s Tiger squad immediately had an answer to the Tug score as Tyler Mackey caught the ensuing kickoff in stride and returned it 75 yards to the house for the score. Colton Henderson’s ensuing kick tied it at seven all.
The Panthers had a special teams answer of their own however as freshman Bryson Elia fielded the ensuing kickoff at his own 16 yard line and returned it all the way to the Shady 29.
Four plays later Tug Valley retook the lead as QB Elijah Fluty powered it across on a run from five yards out. Totten’s PAT was blocked and the Panthers went up 13-7 with 6:36 in the half.
After forcing Shady into a three-and-out, Tug Valley went right back to work on the ground and went 59 yards in nine plays as Elia capped off the drive with his first career score from two-yards out. The Panthers tried a fake on the PAT but it was unsuccessful as they took a 19-7 lead with 1:45 left in the half.
With time still on the clock the Tigers had hopes to cut into the Tug lead before the half. They were successful as they moved the ball to midfield and then quarterback Brady Green hit Mackey on a beautiful fly-route down the middle of the field for a 49-yard touchdown pass.
After an offsides on the PAT by Tug, coach Culicerto elected to go for two and the run was no good as the score was 19-13 at the half.
Shady Spring got the ball first coming out of halftime and was moving the ball into Tug Valley territory as they had a 1st and 10 at the Panther 35-yard line.
The Tug Valley defense held strong however as they held the Tigers to one-yard on 1st down and then forced three straight incomplete passes from Green for the turnover on downs.
The Panthers carried that momentum over to the offensive side as they quickly moved the ball 63 yards down the field in five plays, with Fluty finding receiver Riley Damron on a 21-yard touchdown strike. The PAT was blocked again and Tug took a 25-13 lead with 6:59 left in the third.
The Tug defense continued their hot start to the second half as they forced the only turnover of the game on the ensuing Shady possession when Elia picked off a wobbly pass from Green over the middle around midfield and returned it to the Tiger 23-yard line.
The next Panther drive looked like it was stalled after a penalty forced them into a 4th and goal from the 18-yard line, but Fluty was able to hit an open Damron on a pass near the five yard line and he ran it in the rest of the way for his second score of the half. Totten’s PAT was good and Tug took their largest lead at 32-13 with three minutes in the third.
Shady Spring did not quit as they got one final score on a three-yard run from James Sellards, but it was all for naught as the Panthers sent them back to Raleigh County with the 11-point loss.
Tug Valley outgained Shady on the night as they amassed 376 yards of offense compared to 185 for the Tigers. Tug ran for 288 yards on the ground while holding Shady to only 68 rushing yards.
Slone was the top runner on the night for the Panthers as he toted the ball 23 times for 115 yards and a score. Elia had 87 yards on 16 carries while Fluty ran for 49 yards on nine attempts. Five different Tug Valley runners carried the ball on the night.
In the air Fluty was 7-11 for 88 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. For Shady Green was just 6-19 passing for 117 yards, one TD, and one interception. Sellards led Shady on the ground with 48-yards on 10 carries.
Defensively Tug Valley was led by Slone as he had a team high 11 tackles from his linebacker spot. Damron also added six tackles to help out the cause on that side.
Shady Spring fell to 0-1 with the loss and will remain on the road next week as they play at Nicholas County. Tug improved to 1-0 and will hit the road next week as they head to play Boone County foe Sherman.
Score by Quarters
SSHS (0-1): 0 13 0 8 – 21
TVHS: (1-0): 0 19 13 0 – 32
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
No Scoring
Second Quarter
TV: Adam Slone 6-yard run (Caleb Totten PAT Good) 8:31
SS: Tyler Mackey 75-yard kickoff return (Colten Henderson PAT Good) 8:15
TV: Elijah Fluty 4-yard run (Totten PAT blocked) 6:36
TV: Bryson Elia 2-yard run (Two-point no good) 1:45
SS: Brady Green 49-yard pass to Mackey (Two-point no good) 0:38
Third Quarter
TV: Fluty 21 yard pass to Riley Damron (Totten PAT blocked) 6:59
TV: Fluty 18 yard pass to Damron (Totten PAT good) 3:00
Fourth Quarter
SS: James Sellards 1-yard run (Green run good) 4:46
