Maconaquah Schools

The Maconaquah Braves capped a perfect regular season at home Friday night by scoring a convincing 49-6 Three Rivers Conference win over the Rochester Zebras. First-year coach Ethan Robbins liked what he saw, stating "Our first goal was to go undefeated. Our second goal was to win the TRC outright and our third goal is win the sectional. "We'll enjoy this and move on." His 9-0 Braves will now host a 5-4 Eastbrook squad Friday evening in the opening round of the IHSAA tournament in Class 3A Sectional 28. Robbins is one of only two rookie coaches in the entire state that finished the regular season unbeaten in their first year as a head coach in 2026 (William Coonce - Eastern Hancock being the other). The Braves clinched the TRC crown last week and finished 7-0 in league play, their second perfect conference record in Mac's 64-year history. Rochester finished 4-5 overall and dropped to 3-4 in the TRC. Mac's current nine-game win streak is the second-longest in school history and the victory is the 15th straight regular season win at home . . . another school record. Maconaquah dominated this one from the opening kick, turning a pair of Zebra punts and an interception by Aiden Ousley into a commanding 22-0 lead just 13 minutes into the game. Senior speed-demon Marcell Sims did the first quarter damage . . . scoring on TD runs of 4 and 41 yards and adding a two-point conversion run for a 14-0 lead at the 6:07 mark. Mac's career-scoring leader, he churned for 124 yards in the opening act alone and finished with a game-high150 yards on just nine carries. He had three two-point conversion runs during the game. Senior quarterback Aiden Robinson and his receiving corps took over in the second stanza and tacked on three more touchdowns. Robinson tossed scoring strikes to Treson Ambrose (27 yards), Tre Rader (48 yards) and Alexzander Martin (10 yards) as the Braves streaked to a comfortable 36-6 cushion at halftime. Rochester cut the lead to 22-6 with 6:20 left in the first half with their only sustained drive of the game, an 11-play, 70-yard scoring march. The Zebras would cross midfield only once more during the game . . . reaching the Maconaquah 39 yard line on the final play of the first half. Mac's opening drive in the third quarter was all Sims and Robinson as the talented duo accounted for every yard in a six-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a Robinson-to-Sims TD pass that covered 45 yards and gave MHS a 42-6 lead and began a running clock under the IHSAA "Mercy Rule" with Mac leading by 35+ points. The Braves scored on their first seven possessions and closed out the scoring with 3:37 left in the third period when Jorden Van Ness took a Robinson pass eight yards to paydirt. The PAT boot by Tru Brown provided the final count, 49-6. On the year Maconaquah has scored touchdowns on 62 of its 93 offensive possessions (67%). The Braves are now the highest scoring team in Class 3A (51 ppg) and are ranked as the fourth-highest in all classes. Robinson, the state's leader in TD passes entering the game, finished with five TD's and 239 yards on 13 of 19 accuracy. While his season-long favorite target Nolan Tarrh failed to catch a pass, five different MHS receivers were on the end of Robinson TD aerials. Entering the game, Tarrh was the leading the state in receiving yardage. He sat out the second half with an undisclosed injury. Defensively, Maconaquah held Rochester to 195 yards on the ground after the Zebras rushed for 291 a year ago when beating the Braves, 48-6, in the TRC title game. The Braves finished with 434 yards of total offense and won the first down battle, 18-11. Evan Blake and DaKoda Dauenhauer led MHS with 13 and 12 tackles respectively. Jayden Fitzpatrick had eight stops and Elijah Grzegorski had seven. Chase Washburn (6), Ousley (5) and Ralph Overman (5) added support to the nice defensive job by the Braves. Rochester coach Isaac Shaffer was impressed with one of Mac's best overall outings of the year. "They're a really talented team. I thought their offensive line is what impressed me the most," he stated in his post-game media interview. "They had their way with us up front, especially in the first quarter. Their ends closed really fast and their offense if very explosive," he continued. He called Sims "a really special player." On Robinson... "His football IQ is so high. You can tell he watches a lot of film and he's just so good at finding the matchups that he likes." >>> SIDELINE NOTES >>> . . . . Maconaquah now leads the all-time series with the Zebras, 6-5 . . . . MHS was ranked #10 in the latest Class 3A IFCA poll and #9 in the USA/Today poll . . . . 49 points is the most points scored by Mac vs Rochester in the 11-game series history . . . . Rochester entered the game allowing 19 points per game and surrendering a season-high 30 to Tipp Valley . . . . Sims finished the game with 24 points and now has amassed a school-record 454 in four years at MHS He was the state's fourth-leading scorer this year prior to the game . . . . The Braves set a new MHS record with their eighth 40+ points scored in a game this season . . . . Robinson has now tossed 41 TD passes this year . . . one shy of the school mark he set two years ago . . . . "I owe it all to the offensive line . . they pummeled them (Rochester)," said Robinson. All the receivers are stepping up and I couldn't do what I do without them." . . . . Time of possession on Mac's first four scoring drives: 63 seconds, 8 seconds, 126 seconds and 10 seconds . . . . Senior players recognized were: Jorden Van Ness, Marcell Sims Jr, Jaxon Sullivan, Nolan Tarrh, Alexzander Martin, Treson Ambrose, Aiden Robinson, James Stambaugh, Aiden Ousley, Evan Blake, Chase Washburn, DaKoda Dauenhauer, Elijah Grzegorski, Tru Brown, Brayden Tabler, Tyler Adams, Cooper Powell, Sergio Garcias Alacen and Layten Ringeisen-Kidwell. Managers: Jalynn Sullivan and Sierra Ousley.