By Jesse Swafford | CSwaff Media
Photography by Jesse Swafford | CSwaff Shots

NEW MADISON, OH — Tri-Village wasn’t supposed to play Belmont Friday night.

In fact, neither team was supposed to be preparing for the other.

But a rapidly changing series of events involving Twin Valley South, Stivers and a scramble to fill an unexpected hole in the schedule has created one of the more intriguing matchups of Week 4.

Tri-Village enters Friday night 3-0. Belmont arrives in New Madison at 2-1, its only loss coming by a single point last week.

Combined, the Patriots and Bison have scored 209 points through six games.

Not bad for a matchup that wasn’t on either team’s schedule a week ago.

A Game That Came Together Quickly

For Tri-Village, the process started when Twin Valley South began dealing with injuries and low roster numbers.

“We were contacted by Twin Valley South earlier in the day about them having to cancel their Week 3 game due to injury and our Week 4 game with them wasn’t looking good,” Tri-Village head coach Matt Hopkins said. “They released us to try to find a game in case they couldn’t play.”

The Patriots immediately began searching.

“We contacted several teams that had posted openings but they were all full,” Hopkins said.

Then another situation developed.

Stivers was also dealing with low roster numbers, putting its scheduled Week 4 game against Belmont in question. Tri-Village saw an opportunity.

“We then heard that Stivers were struggling to have their games due to low roster numbers and we looked at who they were playing Week 4,” Hopkins said. “We contacted Belmont and they were willing if Stivers canceled.”

Stivers ultimately canceled its season that day, allowing Tri-Village and Belmont to finalize Friday’s matchup.

Then came another twist.

“Wildly enough, Stivers uncancelled their season the next day but luckily were OK not having to play Belmont,” Hopkins said. “It was a very fast moving process.”

What could have left Tri-Village without a Week 4 opponent instead resulted in a matchup Hopkins is happy to have.

“We’re definitely lucky that we were able to find a quality opponent in such a short window,” he said.

Belmont Brings Plenty to New Madison

Quality opponent might be an understatement.

Belmont opened its season with consecutive shutouts, defeating Woodward 29-0 and New Miami 38-0.

The Bison suffered their first loss last week, but it took a 35-34 battle with Columbus South to do it.

That means Belmont enters Friday night one point away from being 3-0.

The Bison have scored 101 points through three games while surrendering only 35. All 35 of those points came in last week’s loss.

And stylistically, Belmont presents Tri-Village with something different.

“I think they play very fast and very physically,” Hopkins said. “Playing in a run-dominant league, their spread offense and speed are things we are not used to seeing.”

That difference in style could make the hastily arranged matchup particularly valuable for a Tri-Village team with aspirations beyond the regular season.

College Talent in the Trenches

Friday night will also bring significant college talent to the line of scrimmage.

Tri-Village features four-star offensive lineman Dom Black, a Kentucky commit, while Belmont counters with three-star defensive tackle Bariyus Allen, an Iowa commit.

Whether the two highly regarded 2027 prospects find themselves directly across from one another throughout the night will depend on alignments and assignments, but their presence gives Friday’s matchup an intriguing battle in the trenches.

For Tri-Village, Black has helped anchor an offense that has continued to improve during the Patriots’ unbeaten start.

For Belmont, Allen gives the Bison a Power Four-caliber presence in the middle of a defense that didn’t surrender a point through the first two weeks of the season.

3-0 — And Still Searching for a Complete Game

Tri-Village has done everything required of it through three weeks.

The Patriots opened with a 21-3 victory over Bethel before defeating National Trail 38-7.

Last Friday at Tri-County North, Tri-Village faced something it hadn’t encountered much during its recent success: an early deficit.

The Patriots responded.

After falling behind, Tri-Village took control and eventually rolled to a 49-13 victory, improving to 3-0 while pushing its season scoring advantage to 108-23.

Still, Hopkins doesn’t believe his team has reached its ceiling.

“I like the fact that we are 3-0 and we feel that we haven’t played a complete game yet,” Hopkins said. “We’re still working the kinks out in all three phases but we continue to compete and battle to overcome those flaws.”

For Hopkins, that’s both encouraging and a reminder of the work still ahead.

“I like our fight and determination to win, but we’ll need to start firing on all cylinders more consistently if we want to achieve our goals,” he said.

An Early Deficit Provides a Valuable Test

Tri-Village’s response at Tri-County North may ultimately prove more valuable than another comfortable start would have been.

The Patriots found themselves having to respond to adversity instead of playing from ahead throughout the night.

Hopkins welcomed the experience.

“I liked that we were able to respond positively to playing from behind,” he said. “We never had to do that last year in the regular season and I think a team needs to be exposed to every type of game situation so they are as prepared as possible for a long playoff run.”

Friday could provide another kind of test.

Belmont’s speed, spread offense and ability to create explosive plays will force Tri-Village to adjust to a style it doesn’t regularly encounter.

And unlike the first three weeks, the Patriots have had only a matter of days to prepare specifically for it.

What Will Decide Friday Night?

Hopkins has a clear list of what needs to happen if Tri-Village wants to reach 4-0.

It begins before Friday.

The Patriots need a focused week of practice and must take recovery seriously to enter the game as healthy as possible.

Once the ball is kicked, Hopkins wants something his team hasn’t consistently produced yet: a fast offensive start.

Defensively, the priorities center around limiting the elements that make Belmont dangerous.

“We need to keep the QB contained and defend the deep ball,” Hopkins said.

Special teams will present another challenge.

“Special teams will need to tackle extremely well in space,” Hopkins said.

Those areas become particularly important against a Belmont team that has already demonstrated its ability to put points on the scoreboard.

For the Bison, the challenge will be slowing a Tri-Village team averaging 36 points per game and coming off its highest-scoring performance of the season.

Something will have to give.

An Unexpected Week 4 Test

A week ago, Tri-Village was preparing for Twin Valley South.

Belmont expected to play Stivers.

Instead, two teams with a combined 5-1 record will share the field Friday night in New Madison.

One brings a spread offense, speed and a defense that opened the season with consecutive shutouts.

The other enters unbeaten but with a head coach who believes his team still hasn’t put together a complete performance.

There are Power Four commits on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

There are two teams that have already combined for more than 200 points.

And there is an opportunity created almost entirely by circumstance.

For Tri-Village, the goal is straightforward: survive an unusual week, solve a different style of opponent and move to 4-0.

For Belmont, it’s an opportunity to bounce back from a one-point loss and hand the Patriots their first defeat.

Neither expected this game to happen.

By Friday night, that won’t matter.

---

Game Information

Belmont (2-1) at Tri-Village (3-0)
Friday, Sept. 11 | 7 p.m.
Tri-Village High School | New Madison, Ohio

We’ll have live updates on our X account during the game.