MOUNDSVILLE – The Ohio Valley Ironmen did a lot of good things Saturday night as outdoor professional football returned after a nearly six-decade absence.
The local squad had no trouble with the visiting Cincinnati Dukes in a 45-0 pounding before an announced crowd of 731 at John Marshall High School’s Monarch Field.
However, despite putting up 420 yards of triple-shoot offense and pitching a shutout on defense, head coach/general manager Manny Matsakis said there is “a lot of room for improvement.”
Javonte Howard passed for five touchdowns – three going to Cahsid Raymond – and the Ironmen defense held the Dukes (1-3) to a mere 29 yards of offense.
“Every player on our team right now has a lot of room for improvement,” Matsakis stressed. “We need to be more disciplined. We need to make sure that the structure of what we’re playing is cleaner football.
“We need to be able to play our game so that we can execute well.”
Howard and Raymond hooked up for a 65-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game. Howard, the former University of Charleston standout quarterback, let the ball fly and Raymond ran away from a defender. The PAT failed, leaving the hosts ahead 6-0.
It quickly became 13-0 after the defense held Cincinnati to a three-and-out. Howard found D’Ago Hunter in the left flat from 6 yards out and Daniel Parisi made it 13-0. Keying the drive was a 39-yard gain on a dump pass from Howard to Justin Prostinak.
After an exchange of fumbles, Howard hit Joseph Boykin from 30 yards to make it 19-0 early in the second quarter.
Following an interception by Kyle Sapp, Howard connected with Raymond down the right sidelines. The athletic Mansfield receiver juked several defenders before diving across the goal line. Parisi made it 26-0 with 2:25 left in the first half.
Jaylin Mack got the ball right back for the Ironmen with their third interception. Five plays later, Howard found Raymond on a back shoulder catch in the front corner of the end zone from 13 yards as the margin ballooned to 32-0 at the half.
Connor Huffman recovered a Cincinnati fumble on the second play of the third quarter and backup quarterback Chris Barrett and Said Sidibe connected from 4 yards out to up the margin to 38-0.
Terell West capped the scoring with a 1-yard plunge. Parisi’s kick made it 45-0.
Matsakis knew his defense would be ahead of the offense because of the lack of practice time, and he was right.
“Clint Lekanudos is a really good defensive coordinator,” Matsakis said. “He’s done a great job of putting this together. From his perspective, this is his first time coaching professional athletes. I’m proud of him and his defensive staff. I’m looking forward to see what he is able to do with this team.”
Howard completed 8 passes for 238 yards and five touchdowns. Raymond caught three – all for touchdowns – for 126 stripes. Hunter also caught three passes.
The running game provided 134 yards as Jermiah Nelson paced a balanced attack with five carries for 47. Justin Prostinak added 42 on seven totes while West chipped in 35 on six trips.
Defensively, the Ironmen recorded three interceptions and forced a fumble. Linebacker Josh Holley and defensive linemen Mylic Ritche and Tai’yon Devers had their names called numerous times.
Ohio Valley remains at home next Saturday as the Erie Express comes to town. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.