Awsom Mitchell (20) of Triad picks up yardage while Ty Thomas (72) looks to block. The Cardinals will host Mechanicsburg for Homecoming this evening. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Triad High School will mark its 2021 Homecoming as the football regular season begins its second half this evening.
The 2-3 Cardinals probably couldn’t have picked a more difficult opponent than the Mechanicsburg Indians.
The Tribe is 5-0 on the season and is ranked fourth in this week’s Associated Press state Division VI poll.
Mechanicsburg is as proficient moving the ball through the air as it is on the ground.
Quarterback Aaron Conley leads the Indians’ offense.
He has completed 43 passes in 63 attempts for an impressive 68.3 percentage.
His aerials have covered 711 yards and produced 10 touchdowns.
Conley is the third-ranked quarterback in the Ohio Heritage Conference.
Danny Mascadri and Kailen Butler have a combined 24 receptions for 374 yards.
Both have caught a pair of touchdown passes.
Jake Hurst leads the team with a trio of TD receptions.
That represents half of his catches for the season.
Hurst does the biggest portion of his damage in the running game.
He has carried the pigskin 36 times for 329 yards, for a 9.1 average.
Hurst has supplemented his scoring with seven TD runs.
The Indians are ranked third in the circuit in rushing with 758 yards.
The Cardinals have been suspect against the ground game at times this season and must stop that facet of the Indians’ attack.
However, if Triad is able to stop the infantry attack, Conley won’t be afraid to go to the air.