Centerburg holds on to hand Northmor its first loss, 14-12
Centerburg jumped out to a 14-0 lead and held on to beat previously undefeated Northmor, 14-12, in KMAC football action Friday evening. The visiting Trojans (6-2, 4-2 KMAC) scored with just over two minutes left in the first quarter on a 5-yard pass from Jack Gregory to Caylan LeMaster. Dominick Vargo’s extra point made it 7-0, Trojans.
Centerburg doubled the lead 24 seconds into the second quarter on a 69-yard blast by Tyler Johnson and another Vargo PAT.
Northmor (8-1, 5-1 KMAC) got on the board with 3 1/2 minutes remaining before halftime on a 3-yard scamper by quarterback Marcus Cortez. The extra point was missed, and the halftime score stood at 14-6, Trojans.
Just past midway through the third quarter, the Golden Knights got closer when Cortez scored again from a yard out to make it 14-12. Going for two to tie it, Max Lower was stopped by a fired-up Centerburg defense.
The Golden Knights took over at their own 28 after stopping Centerburg on downs with 2 minutes remaining but could get no farther than the Centerburg 32, where the Trojan defense stopped them.
LeMaster led the Trojan defense with seven solo tackles and seven assists, Jarred Rings assisted on nine stops and had three solos, and Tanner Hott finished with three solos and seven assisted tackles for Centerburg.
Northmor outgained Centerburg 302 to 239, though both teams snapped 59 plays from scrimmage. Gregory was 14 for 21 in the air for 94 yards, and Johnson gained 112 yards on 19 carries for the Trojans. Marcus Cortez hit on 7 of 14 passes for 49 yards and gained 137 yards on 22 carries, while Max Lower picked up 118 yards on 22 runs for the Golden Knights.
Freddies come from behind to top Pirates, 20-14
On paper, it looked like a lighter game on Fredericktown’s schedule, but Cardington-Lincoln (1-7, 0-5 KMAC) gave the Freddies (4-5, 2-4 KMAC) all they could handle before Fredericktown knocked C-L off, 20-14, on Friday.
With defenses standing firm in the first quarter, each team scored in the second, with the Freddies taking an 8-6 lead into the locker room at halftime. Fredericktown scored first on a 76-yard bomb from Ben Mast to Kaid Carpenter. A two-point conversion on a pass from Carpenter to Xavier Mullins made it 8-0. The Pirates answered with a 46-yard TD run by Joe Denney, but they came up empty on a two-point try to keep it at 8-6.
The Pirates came storming out in the third quarter to go up 14-8 on a 5-yard run by Denny and a two-pointer.
The fourth quarter was all Freddies, as they scored 12 unanswered points. First came another Mast-to-Carpenter bomb – this one was 53 yards – but the two-point try failed. Mast closed out the scoring on a 1-yard run with another two-point miss to win it 20-14.
The winners were led by Kaid Carpenter, who caught four passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, completed 2 of 4 for 6 yards and gained 11 on the ground. Quarterback Ben Mast completed 5 of 15 – four of them to Carpenter for 153 of his 158 yards – and two touchdowns, both to Carpenter.
On defense for the Freddies, JJ Grennell had five solo tackles and seven assists, including two sacks.
Tygers hold Yellowjackets to 35 yards in 26-6 victory
On Senior Night at Mount Vernon, visiting Mansfield took a 12-0 first-quarter lead and was up 20-6 at halftime. Both teams’ defenses shut down each other’s offenses in the second half, with Mount Vernon limiting the Tygers to two field goals for a 26-6 final score.
Mansfield (7-2, 4-1 OCC) dropped Mount Vernon to 2-7 (1-4 OCC), dominating the clock and the field of play. The Tygers gained 319 yards in total offense and limited the Jackets to 35 yards.
Tygers senior quarterback Brock Hill scored twice (from a yard out and from the 42), and Aveon Grose crossed the goal line from 10 yards out in the second quarter. Kicker Sean Putt accounted for all the second-half tallies with two field goals (22 and 30).
For the first time this season, Mansfield had two 100-yard rushers in a game – Brock Hill gained 116 and Ricky Mills had 108.
Mount Vernon, stymied on offense all evening and limited to only four first downs, relied on special teams to produce its only score. Following Mansfield’s third scoring drive in the first half, Dylan Dowell returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards to the end zone to make it 20-6.
In scoring flurry, Danville overtakes Mt. Gilead, 35-21
Scoring came in bunches as Danville (4-5, 3-3 KMAC) took down Mt. Gilead (2-7, 0-6 KMAC) in gridiron action.
Danville scored first with five minutes left in the first quarter. The Indians answered a minute later on a TD pass from Elijah Chafin to Owen High. It only took Danville two minutes to retake the lead on a rushing TD, but a minute later, Mt. Gilead closed out first-quarter scoring with a Carter Kennon to Logan High touchdown pass to make it 14-13 Mt. Gilead
With three minutes left in the half, Danville retook the lead on a TD pass. A two-point conversion made it 21-14, Blue Devils. Mount Gilead tied it at 21-21 with less than a minute left in the half on a Kyan Davis run and a PAT.
The next tally occurred with less than a minute left in the third on a short run by Danville. On the next possession, a fumble recovery by Danville led to the final points on a run with 9 minutes left. The defenses took over from there.
On offense for Danville, junior Kaiden Colopy made his presence felt as he carried twice … for 132 yards – a 77-yard romp and a 55-yard scamper. He also caught two passes for 16 yards. Junior Max Payne was 5 for 10 for 64 yards in the air with one TD and two interceptions. Sophomore Walker Weckesser carried five times for 28 yards, and senior Deion Parker carried 13 times for 78 yards, as the Blue Devils accounted for 387 yards rushing on 40 carries, an average of 9.7 yards per carry.
Weckesser’s evening included three receptions for 48 yards, and he led the defense with eight solo tackles and three assists, Parker and sophomore Bryer Boeshart each had an interception.
The Indians were paced by Garrett George – 12 carries for 79 yards; Kyan Davis had 18 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Elijah Chafin rushed for 35 and completed 4 of 11 passes for 86 yards and a TD. Carter Kennon completed 5 of 8 for 97 yards and a TD. The High brothers, Owen and Logan, each caught a TD pass.
