Sidney’s Ethan New leaps over Vandalia-Butler’s Davon Smith for a touchdown during a Miami Valley League game on Friday at Memorial Field in Vandalia.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
VANDALIA — The Sidney Yellow Jackets narrowly fell to the Butler Aviators 46-43 on Friday at Memorial Field in a Miami Valley League contest.
“In the second half we made some mistakes,” Yellow Jackets head coach Dave Taynor said. “We have to control the factors that we can. We turned the ball over twice, without that we probably continue those drives and get down the field.”
Sidney (4-4, 4-3) muffed the opening kickoff of the game and gave Butler the ball on the Yellow Jackets 35-yard line to start the night.
“I would have liked to see us get the ball first,” Taynor said. “If we start with the ball, there’s a good chance we go down and score and they don’t have that back-and-forth momentum to start.”
The Aviators marched down the field and took half of the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead with just under six minutes to play.
Sidney responded in its first offensive drive with a long drive from Julius Spradling to put the Yellow Jackets inside the Butler 10-yard line before Isaiah Foster punched the ball in with a short run of his own.
The Aviators blocked the Sidney PAT which kept them from tying the game up.
The Yellow Jackets forced a four and out for Butler on its next drive before a short punt gave Sidney the ball on the Aviators’ 28-yard line.
After being pushed back a few yards, quarterback Ethan New found Tank Fleming for a 30-yard touchdown reception. New converted the two-point play to take a 14-7 lead with 1:33 to play in the first quarter.
The Aviators wasted no time in their response, scoring on a 73-yard reception on their first play from scrimmage. Sidney limited the damage by blocking the PAT to keep a 14-13 lead with just over a minute to play in the quarter.
New got in on the passing action with a 76-yard reception from Tank Fleming that gave the Yellow Jackets a 20-13 lead. He followed that up with another 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 22-13 with 0:35 left in the first.
“Offensively we played really well,” Taynor said. “We got off to a quick start and we feel like if we execute consistently we can get these close victories.”
After Sidney forced another Butler punt, New found Fleming again for a 40-yard gain to put the Yellow Jackets on the Aviators’ 10-yard line early in the second quarter.
Sidney was unable to capitalize on the field position as a pass from New was intercepted. Butler took possession on their own 20-yard line.
On the Aviators’ first play, they fumbled and the Yellow Jackets recovered to re-take possession in the red zone with nine minutes left in the half.
New negated his earlier interception when he found Tanner Snider for a 20-yard touchdown reception. A successful PAT extended the lead to 29-13 with 8:00 to play in the half.
In a change of pace, Sidney recovered the muffed kickoff from the Aviators and took back over on offense on the Butler 41-yard line.
Foster got a first down to put the Yellow Jackets in the red zone with six minutes left in the half.
New added six points to the board on a short QB run to extend the lead to 36-13 after a successful PAT with 5:52 to play in the first half.
The Aviators showed signs of life late in the second half when they scored on a 12-yard run to cut the lead to 36-20 with 2:21 left in the second quarter.
Sidney held Butler scoreless for the rest of the first half as they took a 36-20 lead into the third quarter.
The Aviators received the kickoff to start the second half.
After Butler marched into Yellow Jackets territory, the Yellow Jackets took back momentum on an interception of a tipped Aviators’ pass. But just two plays later, New fumbled and gave possession back with 8:30 to play in the third.
Before Butler could work into the red zone, it fumbled the ball back to Sidney.
The Yellow Jackets were unable to take advantage of the turnovers and punted back to the Aviators. Butler was able to push down the field and get the first score of the half on a short run. After a successful 2-point conversion Sidney led 36-28 with four minutes to play in the third.
The Yellow Jackets’ turnover woes continued when T. Fleming fumbled and gave the Aviators the ball on the Sidney 29-yard line with momentum on their side.
Butler cut through the Yellow Jackets defense and scored a seemingly easy touchdown before topping the drive off with a 2-point conversion to tie the game at 36-36 with 2:11 to play in the third.
Neither team could get offense going for the next few drives. Sidney was forced to punt and stuck the Aviators on their own 28-yard line with nine minutes left to play in regulation.
After being pushed back to its own 15-yard line, Butler’s QB connected on a crazy 85-yard touchdown reception that gave it a 43-36 lead with 7:53 to play.
The Yellow Jackets tied the game up on a Julius Spradling rushing touchdown with three minutes left to play. The Aviators took over and cut down the field and made it to the Sidney 10-yard line with just two seconds on the clock following a Butler timeout.
The Aviators lined up for a field goal and put the ball through the uprights as the Yellow Jackets were unable to prevent the score as time expired and Butler took the game 46-43.
“We’re 0-0 walking off the field today and have to get ready to play against Piqua,” Taynor said. We have to work to try and earn a victory next Friday.”
Sidney takes on MVL rival Piqua at Piqua on Friday at 7 p.m. as it starts to round out its regular season.
Reach assistant editor/sports writer Ryan Harless at 937-538-4651 or follow @RyanHarless_ on X (formerly Twitter).
