With a victory in their season opener, the Tecumseh Arrows football team looked to stay unbeaten when they matched up with the visiting Butler Aviators this past Friday night. It was a tough fought contest as each team put forward maximum effort on both sides of the ball. Early in the first quarter the Arrows forced a turnover on downs and on their proceeding possession, matriculated down the field and eventually rushed into the end zone to take a 7-0 lead. It would be the only score of the night for Tecumseh as the Butler defense shaped up and held on as their backup quarterback, Mason Motter, filled in after injury to starter Tyler Burley and played well under center for the Aviators as they went on to win 24-7.

The night started out troubling for the Butler Aviators when on their first offensive drive of the game quarterback Tyler Burley was injured, forcing sophomore backup Mason Motter to fill in. Tecumseh’s defense didn’t allow anything easy for Motter and the Butler offense as Hunter Hensley, Brandon Castillo, and Devin Alltop together with the rest of the fierce Tecumseh defense ganged up and forced the Aviators to turn the ball over on downs on their first possession. When the Arrows took over on downs it was lead back Brody Martin getting the significant amount of carries, but when he left early with an injury, Tecumseh looked to their bruising short yardage runner, Jayden McFarland to fill the roll. All looked to be going well as quarterback Will Sowder completed a pass to receiver Clay Mastin on a third and long to set up the Arrows with a first down and goal. Then McFarland blasted into the end zone for the game’s first score, giving Tecumseh a 7-0 lead after James Gray kicked through the extra point.

Butler looked to be gaining composure little by little as backup quarterback Motter settled in and completed multiple passes to set up a Butler field goal, making the score 7-3 going into the second quarter. After a deep pass attempt by Motter was tracked down and intercepted by Tecumseh’s Gavin Wasson, the Arrows offense was unable to seize the opportunity and the Aviators took back control of the ball. Tough nosed running back Logan Flatt executed on a fourth and one for Butler and set up Motter for a quarterback keeper into the end zone, giving the Aviators a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.

On the Arrows next possession they seemed to be gaining some momentum, converting three first downs, but as Sowder completed a difficult pass in traffic to running back McFarland, the ball popped loose and Butler was able to recover the fumble. The Aviators wasted no time as Motter completed passes down the field to Miles Joiner and Trey Sanders, which set up running back Logan Flatt for a 15 yard touchdown run, making the score 17-7 at halftime. The third quarter saw both teams struggle to move the ball and even as Motter was intercepted by Tecumseh’s Devin Alltop, the Arrows were unable to convert the turnover into any points.

The Aviators saw the time running out for Tecumseh and kept the clock moving. Logan Flatt rushed in for his second touchdown of the night and pushed the Butler lead to 24-7. It was

difficult for the Arrows to gain much momentum later in the contest, and Butler held on for the victory. Coach Chris Cory’s Tecumseh Arrows took their first loss of the season and will look to get back on the winning side of things next week when they travel to Bellbrook for a special Thursday night game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00.

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