Monroe Central

Tri 42, Monroe Central 6 The Monroe Central football team suffered its second straight loss, falling on Friday night to visiting Tri, 42-6, in Parker City. The Titans (3-1) scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the ballgame, all in the first quarter, while the Golden Bears (2-2) went punt, lost fumble and punt on their first three possessions, digging themselves into an early 21-0 hole from which they could not recover. Monroe Central’s lone touchdown came early in the third quarter, as quarterback Carson Siekmann delivered a beautiful go ball deep down the left sideline to Leum Butler, who caught it in stride and ran the rest of the way from there for a 50-yard scoring play. For the game, Butler hauled in three catches for 75 yards and that aforementioned touchdown. Siekmann had a team-best eight carries for 43 yards, converting three first downs. Tri, as usual, was stout up front with its run game. On Friday night, the Titans ran the ball 51 times for 350 yards for a 6.7 yards-per-carry average. Luke Anderson led the Golden Bears’ defense with 12 total tackles. Carson Cruse added eight stops, including a solo tackle for a loss, while Nic Cope had seven tackles and a forced fumble, which was recovered by Kaden Sullivan, who had six stops on the night. Owen Cummins also recovered a late Titans fumble, rumbling 25 yards to midfield. Monroe Central is off next week. The team next takes on rival Wes-Del in Gaston on Sept. 25. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.