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Coach Mike Spiece and the Wayne Trace Raiders picked up another Black Swamp Title on Friday night, August 24. The game against the Panthers took place on the Raider home field.
Even though the game went in the favor of the Raiders, the Panthers did not just lay down and hand the trophy over. Paulding’s Jacob Eblin scored the first touchdown in the 1st quarter, quickly followed by Trevor Speice on the Raider side. Neither team could get the extra point. This game had more extra point kick failures than they had pass through the goal posts.
Paulding and Wayne Trace both scored again in the 2nd period with Jacob Deisler and then Evan Mohr scoring. Korbin Slade added two extra points for the Raiders with 10 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. The half ended with Wayne Trace squeaking out a 14-12 lead.
Halftime ended and the Raiders were the only scorers in the third quarter, effectively sealing the game. Wayne Trace’s Trevor Spiece ran 5 yards to score the next touchdown.
The fourth quarter began with the Raiders leading 21-12. Wayne Trace came in with another touchdown at 8:31 seconds on the clock. Grant Baumle ran the 15 yards to add 6 points to the board. It looked grim for the Panthers with a Raider lead of 28-12. Paulding wasn’t finished yet when both Hunter Kesler and Jacob Deisler scored for the guests, putting Paulding within reach with 25 points.
The Raiders were also not done as Trevor Speice slipped through the Panther defense in the last play of the fourth quarter at 2:48 on the clock. The game finished 33-25.
This is the 8th consecutive year the Raiders have earned the Black Swamp Trophy.
