In week 4, the Paoli Rams squared off against IHSAA sectional 40 foes, the Perry Central Commodores. It was a home game for the Commodores, but the advantage didn’t help as Paoli ran away with the win, 44-22.
Stay tuned for SISN coverage of each possession, as well as a box score and a quick look at Paoli’s next opponent, West Washington.
Game Recap – Perry Central Commodores vs Paoli Rams, September 8th, 2023
Perry Central won the toss and elected to receive, starting the game at their 38-yard line. Sawyer Guillaume would take the first hand off, and lead what started as an impressive 10 play opening drive where 4 different players carried the ball and drove down the field to Paoli’s 17-yard line.
It was third and eight on Perry’s ninth play, when Paoli’s Jaxson Reynolds forced a fumbled and set the Commodores back to a 4th and 26th.
The Rams got the ball on their 35, after a failed Commodore conversion attempt. It took 3 plays for the Rams to score, with Ram’s senior RB Trey Rominger breaking loose with a 55-yard touchdown run. Fletcher Cole followed it up with the 2-point conversion, Rams up 0-8 with under five minutes to go in the first.
The Commodores’ next possession was a three and out, after gaining only 1 rushing yard off 2 rushing attempts and 1 failed passing attempt. Paoli’s Trey Rominger would get two big stops with support from Garrett Hickman and Ian Drake.
Paoli would get the ball back on their 20, and this drive it would take the Rams 2 plays to score. It was Dane Padgett off to the races, with a 77-yard touchdown sprint. Trey added 2-points, and Rams were suddenly up 0-16 with 2 minutes to go in the first.
Perry Central came back with another strong drive on their 3rd possession, putting together 12 plays and giving touches to multiples players. Cooper Brown, Cohen Edwards & Sawyer Guillaume all had decent runs, but eventually the drive sputtered out on Paoli’s 18 after 2 PC incomplete passes on 3rd and 4th.
Paoli’s third possession started at their 18 with 9 minutes to go in the half. This possession is a little messier than the previous two, with the drive ending in a Fletcher Cole fumble, forced by PC’s Ethan Bell on PC’s 27-yard line.
Perry’s Cole Yeager would capitalize on the turnover and go to the air with a 40-yard pass to Cooper Brown down to Paoli’s 23. After a couple carries, Perry’s Guillaume would score, making it a ten-point game at 6-16.
Paoli started their 4th possession at their 40 with 2 minutes left in the half. Their first possession, it took the Rams three plays to score. The second possession, three. Their 4th, it took one play. Trey Rominger took the hand off from Cole and ran for the 60-yard touchdown, with only 7 seconds coming off the clock. Paoli up 6-24.
PC’s RB Cohen Edwards started off the next drive with a fumble, forced by Paoli’s Coy Busick, but Edwards recovered. Yeager followed up the fumble with a 20-yard pass to Joe Morgan.
Perry Central would get down to Paoli’s 16-yard line, until Ian Drake caused Paoli’s third force fumble with Paoli’s Dane Padgett recovering the ball at their 13 with 41 seconds left in the first half. Paoli would take a knee to end the half, leading 24 to 6.
Paoli ended the half with 15 carries for 243 rushing yards (16.2 yard avg) to Perry Central’s 30 carries for 120 yards (4 yd avg). Paoli did not record any passes in the first half. PC was 2/5 for 60 yards.
Trey Rominger finished the half with 6 carries for 129 yards (21.5 avg) and 2 touchdowns for the Rams.
Rams’ Sophomore RB Dane Padgett had 3 carries for 114 yards (38 avg) and 1 TD in the half.
First half rushing for the Commodores was Sawyer Guillaume with 11 carries for 39 yards (3.5 avg) and 1 touchdown. Cooper Brown added 5 carries for 35 yards. Cohen Edwards had 9 carries for 32 yards and Cole Yeager had 5 carries for 33 yards.
The Rams defense came to play again with Trey Minton leading the half in tackles with 5. Fletcher Cole, Jaxson Reynolds, and Trey Rominger would all add 4 tackles each in the half.
Bowdie Cronin and Joe Morgan led the half in tackles for PC with 3 each.
Onto the second half. Paoli received the kick-off and quickly got moving. It was either Rominger or Padgett getting the calls on the first drive, with Padgett getting his second TD on a 21-yard run with 8 minutes left in the third. It was Paoli up 32 to 6 after 7 plays into the third.
The Commodores first drive out of the half didn’t go as well. It was a quick 4 and out and the Rams once again had the ball at PC’s 48-yard line.
Cole started the drive with a pass that went for a 4-yard loss to Rominger. Paoli’s other sophomore RB Trey Minton responded with an 8-yard run, followed by a 18 yard gallop from Trey Rominger. The 2 Treys and Fletcher would interchange until Fletcher got the call for the TD. Paoli would go up 38 to 6 with 2 minutes to go in the 3rd.
Paoli moved some starters around at this point, bringing in some younger players to get time. The Commodores would move the ball well and eventually get their second TD at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Paoli up 38 to 14.
The Rams would follow up with their own TD from Cooper Spires and the second-string offense.
Sawyer Guillaume and the Commodores responded with a big 66-yard rushing TD on their last drive of the game, but by that point it was already over. Rams win, 44-22.
Paoli’s Trey Rominger led all rushers with 12 carries for 192 yards and 2 touchdowns (16 yd avg). Dane Padgett also had a great night with 7 rushes for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns (20.6 yd avg). Cooper Spires and Fletcher Cole would also combine for 2 rushing TDs as well.
Sawyer Guillaume led the way for the Commodores with 18 carries for 147 yards and 2 TDs (8.2 avg). Cohen Edwards, Cooper Brown, and Cole Yeager all had over 6 carries and saw a lot of touches.
Trey Minton was the top tackler with 8 and 1 for a loss. PC’s Joe Morgan had 7.
The win brings the Rams up to 3-1 for the season, while the Commodores fall to a disappointing 1-3.
Box Score
West Washington Senators vs Paoli Rams, September 15th, 7:00 pm EST.
| West Washington (3-1) at Paoli (3-1) |
| GAME TIME: 7 pm ET, Cook Field. |
| COACHES: Jeremy Lowery, 14-9 in 3rd year at West Washington, 42-28 in 7th year overall. Neil Dittmer, 24-12 in 4th year at Paoli. |
| SAGARIN RATINGS: Paoli, 54.02, 130th overall, 16th in 2A. West Washington, 26.5, 245th overall, 31st in 1A. |
| LAST OUTING: West Washington lost to Springs Valley, 46-7. Paoli defeated Perry Central, 44-22. |
| VS. COMMON FOES: West Washington 0-1; Paoli 1-0. |
| OPPONENTS’ RECORDS: West Washington 4-12. Paoli 6-10. |
| SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: Paoli, 18-16 |
| LAST MEETING: Paoli, 41-0, Sep. 16, 2022. |
| jh PREDICTION: Paoli, 38-17. |
John Harrel is predicting that the Rams will win big, and I’ll agree with that. West Washington has a good 3 and 1 record, but they’re coming off a big loss from Springs Valley, 46-7, a Blackhawks team that the Rams had no trouble with Week 3. Their wins come over lower tier teams, who only have 1 win between them.
Jeremy Lowery, the Senators head coach in his third season with the team, was once the head coach of the Rams. He left the Rams program after a 12-1 2018 Sectional Championship season. Coach Lowery knows these Rams well but hasn’t been able to get a win against them in his first two Senator seasons.
Last season, the Rams shut out West Washington, 41-0. The Senators put a lot of focus on Trey Rominger, which allowed a lot of running room for all the other backs. The Rams ran for 507 yards in their previous matchup, and it’ll be much of the same this year.
Paoli Senior Trey Rominger has big goals
The Senators will have trouble stopping Trey Rominger, who is sitting at 15th in the state with 680 yards on 89 carries and 8 TDs. That puts him at 34% of his goal this year of 2,000 yards nearly midway through the regular season. At his current pace, Rominger is set for 1,700 yards, so he’ll have to up his game a little bit if he’s going to get to 2k (That is if the Rams only play one Sectional game.)
Trey isn’t the only concern West Washington should be worried about. Dane Padgett, Rams Sophomore RB, is quick, and will break out some huge runs. Flecther Cole will come up big as well. I believe at least 4 different Rams will have a rushing touchdown.
The Senators need to also be concerned about simply scoring. They didn’t get points last year, and this Paoli defense is even meaner than they were last year. Paoli will keep it respectful and won’t pull the score too far apart, but in my opinion, Paoli is on a different level than West Washington this season. That doesn’t mean the Rams should come in cocky, when they do that, bad things happen.
The game starts at 7:00 pm EST time in Paoli. We hope to see you there to cheer on both teams!
We’d like to thank our sponsor, Rominger Farms, for allowing us to provide exclusive coverage for the Paoli Rams football team and their 2023 season.
