Northmor comes back to edge South Central, 28-20
Northmor was coming off a blowout win to open the season and continued that success, but it was a bit closer this time in a 28-20 win over South Central on Aug. 26 to improve to 2-0.
South Central went up 13-0 early on a pair of touchdown passes by Brandon Mitchell, including one that went for 76 yards in the first quarter. Northmor finally got on the board in the second quarter with 1:40 remaining on a Max Lower touchdown run of 9 yards and an extra point converted by Caleb Schnuerer to make it 13-7. With only 6 seconds on the clock in the half, A.J. Bower completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Lower, and with an extra point made, it was 14-13 at the half.
South Central took a 20-14 lead on another touchdown pass by Mitchell, but with 43 seconds left in the third, Northmor took a 21-20 lead on a two-yard touchdown run by Lower and converted extra point. Northmor added an insurance score with 6:02 left in the game on a 13-yard touchdown run by Paul Cramer, completing the 28-20 win.
Bower went 7-for-15 in the air for 140 yards, along with a touchdown and an interception, in the win. He also ran the ball seven times for 38 yards. Lower had 21 carries for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 35 yards and a touchdown. Cramer had five rushes for 60 yards and a touchdown. Hunter Full was the top receiver with four receptions for 88 yards. Defensively, Bohdi Workman, C.J. Stoney and Bo Bo Landin had an interception each. Schnuerer was 4-for-4 on extra points in the game.
The Golden Knights hosted Bucyrus on Friday at 7 p.m. looking to stay undefeated in the early season.
Centerburg knocks off Grandview Heights, 28-12
The Centerburg Pirates improved to 1-1 with a convincing 28-12 win over Grandview Heights on Aug. 26, riding the back of quarterback Tyler Johnson, who had a huge day on the ground and in the air.
In the first quarter, the Trojans got on the board first with a 26-yard pass from Johnson to Mason Turske and a kick by Dominic Vargo through the uprights to go up 7-0 with 3:14 on the clock. With 7:21 remaining in the second quarter, Johnson used his legs for a 10-yard score to make it 14-0. After Grandview Heights scored to make it 14-6, with 1:10 left on the clock, Johnson tossed a 38-yard score to Caylan LeMaster, and after the kick was made, it was a 21-6 game.
Grandview scored a touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter to make it 21-12, but Johnson hit Turske again, this time for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 7:03 left to make it 28-12 and take the victory.
Centerburg had 411 total yards on the day, compared to 235 yards for Grandview Heights. This included a game clock-eating 313 yards yards on the ground, at an average of 7.3 yards per carry.
Johnson was 8-for-16 on pass attempts for 98 yards and three touchdowns in the air, but it was his work on the ground that set the tone. He had 25 carries for 201 yards and a touchdown. LeMaster also had a huge day with 12 rushes for 107 yards and two catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. Defensively. LeMaster had eight tackles, including two for loss. Turske had three catches for 37 yards and two touchdowns. Turske also had an interception on defense
The Trojans looked to ride the momentum from the win with a home matchup on Sept. 2 against Worthington-Christian.
East Knox gets shut out by Crestview, 35-0
The Crestview Cougars came to town to face East Knox on Aug. 26, and it was all Crestview from the start in a 35-0 blowout victory over the Bulldogs, dropping East Knox to a 1-1 record.
Crestview scored 14 points in the first quarter and tacked on another score in the second quarter to go up 21-0. The Cougars then came out and scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to go up 35-0 and cruise to victory.
East Knox was led by running back Cole Delaughder, who hit 100 yards in 14 carries, as well as pulling in an eight-yard catch. Defensively, he had 5.5 tackles, with one for loss. In the air, quarterback Bracen Davis was 8-for-21 with three picks. Defensively, Carson Steinmetz had an interception, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
East Knox looked to bounce back against Colonel Crawford on Sept. 2.
Elgin scores twice in fourth to beat Cardington-Lincoln, 30-14
Cardington-Lincoln started well but could not withstand a late third-quarter and fourth-quarter attack by Elgin, and the Pirates' early-season struggles continued with a 30-14 loss to the Comets on Aug. 26, falling to 0-2 to start the season.
The game was tied 6-6 after one quarter. But then Elgin put another six on the board in the second quarter to take a 12-6 lead into halftime. In the third quarter,, Cardington scored a touchdown and made the two-point conversion, but Elgin scored a touchdown as well without a conversion to make it an 18-14 game. The fourth quarter was all Elgin, putting up a pair of touchdowns to make it a 30-14 game to seal the win.
Quarterback Kaiden Beach was the top performer for the Pirates in the air and on the ground. In the air he threw for 77 yards on a 7/13 day. He ran the ball 21 times for 86 yards and a touchdown. Wyatt Kenney also had a nice day on the ground with 61 yards on 14 carries, including a touchdown. He also had a 32-yard catch. Journey Williamson had two catches for 29 yards.
The Pirates looked to get into the winning column on Friday with a home game against Crestline.
Loudonville holds on to upend Utica, 19-13
Despite a solid day passing the ball by quarterback Zach Heckman, the Utica Redskins fell to Loudonville, 19-13, on Aug. 26 and fell to 1-1 on the season.
Heckman went 9-for-13 passing for 119 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to earn a 105.4 quarterback rating.
One of the biggest plays of the day was a lob-strike to Gavin Chinn, who snagged a Heckman pass in stride and went for 65 yards for a touchdown. Heckman was able to dodge defenders and scramble to his right and heave a perfect pass to Chinn, who outran the defense for an untouched score. Chinn finished the day with four receptions for 95 yards, including the long touchdown grab. Justin Giffin had five catches for 15 yards and a touchdown and also ran the ball 11 times for 38 yards.
Leading Utica defensively was Zach Cyphers, who had 13 tackles. Chinn also had an interception and a tackle. Tyler Collar had six tackles and two sacks. Also recording a sack each were Chase Bennett and Robert Cotsamire. Cotsamire record seven tackles, including 1.5 for loss. Jordan Hartman had six tackles and 0.5 sacks.
Utica finished with 146 passing yards and 62 rushing yards on the day.
The Redskins looked to rebound in a non-conference matchup on the road in Fredericktown Friday night.
