By Steve ruman

sports @vindy.com

NILES

West Branch vs Niles

Gallery

While Friday the 13th is a dreaded day for many, the date could not arrive soon enough for the Niles McKinley High Red Dragons.

For starters, Niles was anxious to put behind it last week’s loss to Liberty. What’s more, the Red Dragons on Friday were set to play their first home game of the season, and their first-ever game on the new artificial turf at Bo Rein Stadium.

The charged-up Red Dragons certainly played like a team possessed from start to finish in a 34-7 non-conference victory over West Branch.

Niles lifts its record to 2-1, while the injury-plagued Warriors fall to 0-3.

“This was a very different week,” Niles coach Brian Shaner said. “With the excitement of this entire city, we had to block out the emotion and focus on the importance of our opponent.

“Coming off a loss, I thought our kids did a great job of staying focused and getting ready for West Branch. But just like the rest of the town, they were charged to play on our new field.”

Niles wasted little time establishing the momentum it would maintain throughout the night. The Red Dragons took the opening possession and marched 64 yards on seven plays to take an early 7-0 lead. Cory Hayes (9 carries, 55 yards) capped the drive with a 2-yard run.

The Dragons tacked on a pair of first-half touchdowns to take a 20-0 lead into intermission. Marcus Hill pulled in a 15-yard pass from Kyle Paden in the early stages of the second quarter. Then, with 3:01 left in the half, Paden hooked up with Jimmy Mullen for an 8-yard touchdown strike.

Paden finished 21 of 27 passes for 256 yards. Hill was on the receiving end of eight of those passes for 122 yards.

“Marcus is a special, special wide receiver, he’s one of the best that I’ve been around,” Shaner said. “He makes big plays. And the fact that we have a great and a deep group of receivers really helps him do what he does.”

The Niles defense also clicked on all cylinders in the first half. Through the first two quarters, the Warriors were limited to just 22 total yards. The Warriors finished with 88 rushing yards and just three yards through the air.

Niles scored a touchdown in the third quarter on a Chris Parry 22-yard reception. West Branch answered on a 3-yard run by Logan Nagy. The Red Dragons then capped the scoring midway through the fourth when Paden scrambled in from seven yards out.

“This was a big night for our program and for our town,” Shaner said. “Ever since they started laying the turf down in June, people had this day circled on the calendar. The guys did a great job of staying focused on what they had to do.”

Niles returns to action Friday when it hosts All- American Conference rival Poland.

“That’s going to be light a heavyweight fight — like a league championship atmosphere,” Shaner said.

West Branch will try to regroup when it hosts Marlington.