WOOSTER -- On senior night at Titans Stadium, Timken suffered the same fate that so many other opponents have on faced on the road at Triway -- watching Derek Carmichael connect with Sawyer Polen all night long.
Triway (8-2, 6-1 Principals Athletic Conference) took a 27-0 first-quarter lead and coasted to a 41-0 win over Timken (2-8, 1-6 PAC) in a tune-up before the opening round of the playoffs next week. The shutout not only sent the seniors out on a high note, but had even greater significance -- it was the 16th straight regular season home win for the Titans. The senior class went out having never been beaten at home.
"We're trying to establish tradition and this goes a long way," said coach Tony Lee. "I told our seniors they have never been beaten at home. That was important for them."
Teams have struggled mightily on Triway's turf in part because Carmichael and Polen have been an even more effective combo than Abbott and Costello. On Friday, Carmichael found Polen eight times for 93 yards. Polen's eight catches give him 82 overall and he finishes the year with 1,189 yards -- a Triway single-season school record.
According to Lee, it is Polen's overall package that has made him one of the best receivers in school history.
"He's such a great athlete," said Lee. "He's got deceptive speed, great hands and runs good routes -- he's a complete player."
It was also the final regular season game for Carmichael, who shredded the Timken secondary like a box of mini-wheats. Carmichael completed 16-of-26 passes for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Carmichael finishes the year with 2,735 passing yards, 37 yards short of the single-season mark he set last season.
While it is Triway's spread attack itself that has drawn praise, it has been the players that have made it work.
"The scheme is solid," said Timken coach Kevin Mitchell, "and then when you mix a great scheme with great athleticism, that's a tough combination to beat.
"When they've had the success they've had for as long as they've had it, you may slow them down, but you're not going to stop them," said Mitchell.
Lee said that the players have proven it's not just the system that has keyed their success.
"A lot of people thought last year it was the offense itself and that was how Derek had all those yards," said Lee. "Well we had to replace three pretty good receivers with three new ones. It wasn't just a product of the offense. It was Derek doing his job, the line doing its job and the kids making the catches. We restocked the refrigerator this year."
While Carmichael and Polen walked off the field at Titans Stadium for the last time Friday, Lee's cupboard hardly appears bare.