Smitherman’s triple-option offense rolled up 221 yards against the Golden Panthers and 219 against the Cougars.
Despite relying on backup quarterback Calvin Svoboda with starter Jack Minnick injured, the Beavers also have 210 passing yards the last two games.
“I think it’s better received when you’re 2-1 than when you’re 0-1, but as far as that goes they’re still learning,” Smitherman said of his offense, which he also deployed as head coach at Twin Valley South, Stebbins, Xenia and Tri-County North. “The fear is that you never throw the ball, but we’ve done some good things.
“They’re trying to throw the football and get that piece of it done across the board, but the main thing is to maintain the clock and and do the right thing that way, and see what you can come up with.”
Zane Piatt, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior, is second in the GWOC with 355 rushing yards while Dana Johnson-Dennis, a 5-9, 190-pound sophomore, is 10th with 135 yards.
Defensively, Beavercreek tops the league allowing 112.3 yards and 8.7 points per game with linebackers Eli Walker and Logan Johnson leading the team with 16 tackles.
Smitherman was an assistant at Beavercreek under Dave Miller Sr. before embarking on his career as a head coach, and he said he is seeing a positive attitude as he tries to establish his program at a school that last had a winning season in 2017.
“Definitely hard-working kids. Want to win. Eager to learn,” Smitherman said. “They’ve done a really good job of trying to set the culture for what they want it to be for their team, which is the most important thing to me. I’m the head coach, but it’s their team, and we want to make sure they understand that.”
Northmont dropped its first two games of the season, 49-20 to Butler and 27-6 at Cincinnati La Salle, before scoring a dramatic, last-second 15-14 win over Cincinnati Withrow last week.
Calilien Grant ran in the winning two-point conversion with three seconds left after Brady Lupton’s 7-yard touchdown run.
They have run for 186 yards apiece this season while Lupton is 14 for 30 passing for 185 yards and a touchdown and an interception while sophomore linebacker Dominic Alexander leads head coach Anthony Broering’s team with 18 tackles.
“Tony’s a really good coach over there,” Smitherman said. “He’s done it at several different levels for a long time. They’re going to be prepared. They’re going to be disciplined. They’re going to be fast and physical, which is what you get from Northmont teams on a regular basis. The speed and athleticism across the board, and they’re really disciplined.
He also noted the triple-option offense won’t be totally foreign to the Thunderbolts since they see it every season from Fairmont.
“They’re familiar with what we do, so we’ve got to be extra good at how we execute and how disciplined we are, and at that point, let the cards fall where they may,” Smitherman said.
Other games to watch:
While there are few matchups between teams with winning records in Week 4, a handful of local squads still boast perfect records.
In the Miami Valley League, 3-0 Butler plays at 0-3 Greenville while 3-0 Tippecanoe plays host to 1-2 Piqua and 3-0 Xenia plays host to 1-2 Stebbins.
In the Greater Catholic League Co-ed Division, Carroll (3-0) has outscored its first three opponents, 100-28. The Patriots, who are off to their best start since 2018, host Northwest.
In the Southwestern Buckeye League, 3-0 Eaton plays host to 2-1 Oakwood, and other games to watch are 2-1 Brookville at 2-1 Waynesville and 2-1 Carlisle visiting 1-2 Valley View.
In the GWOC, Beavercreek is one of only three teams to finish nonconference play with a winning record.
The others are Fairmont and Springboro, both 2-1.
The Firebirds play host to 1-2 Centerville while the Panthers are set to host 1-2 Wayne.
In the City League, Meadowdale is setting the pace through three weeks. The Lions are 2-1 after following a season-opening loss to Columbus East with dominant wins over Cincinnati Woodward (26-0) and Troy Christian (44-6).
Meadowdale plays at 2-1 Middletown Madison on Friday night.
About the Author
