Danville 32, Northmor 7
A short-staffed Danville squad (4-1, 2-0) and third-ranked Northmor (4-1, 1-1) went to battle in a KMAC matchup of two of the conference’s top teams, but the Blue Devils made quick work of the Golden Knights on Sept. 16.
The game was scoreless for all of the first and much of the second quarters, until Max Payne put Danville on the board with a three-yard touchdown run to make it 6-0. The Blue Devils scored again with 1:10 left in the half, on a Walker Weckesser touchdown pass to Aidan Burke for 40 yards. The extra point try was blocked, and the game was 12-0 going into halftime.
The third quarter was a scoreless defensive battle, but with 11:51 left in the game, Weckesser ran the ball in from 14 yards out. With 5:57 on the clock, Northmor’s AJ Bower put the Golden Knights on the board with a touchdown pass to Bo Bo Landin for 68 yards. With 4:25 left, Ryan Lucas scored on an 11-yard touchdown run, and with the extra point by Weckesser it was 25-7. Danville finished the fourth quarter scoring barrage with 3:10 left on a Ryan Lucas touchdown run of 25 yards. Max Payne made the extra point and it sealed a 32-7 victory for Danville.
Danville had a relatively balanced pass-to-rush attack with 171 yards and 225 yards, respectively. Weckesser was 12-for-18 for 170 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran the ball nine times for 14 yards and a touchdown. Lucas ran the ball 12 times for 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Max Payne had 12 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown. Aidan Burke was the top receiver with three catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. Kaiden Colopy had four catches for 52 yards.
Defensively, Danville had seven sacks, including three from Lucas, one from Payne, one from Kendall Carter and two by Caleb Lucas. Jacob Hackman and Colopy had interceptions, with Hackman’s going for a 71-yard return. Peyton Horn led the team in tackles with 10.
Northmor spent most the time in the air in their offensive attack. Bower was 21-for-35 for 263 yards and a touchdown. His number one target was Landin who had five catches for 150 yards. Hunter Fulk had six receptions for 50 yards, and on the ground he had two rushes for 14 yards. Caleb Schnuerer had five catches for 45 yards. He also ran the ball seven times for nine yards.
"Our team was able to fight through a lot of adversity Friday night," Danville coach Matt Blum said. "Due to injuries, we only suited up 26 players. Our guys battled hard for four quarters and played with tremendous effort and heart. Defensively, we were able to stop their run game and forced them to pass the ball more than they are used to, which created multiple takeaways. Offensively, we had a balanced attack. I am so proud of our boys and our program."
Next up for Danville is Loudonville on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. for a non-conference home game. Northmor takes on Fredericktown on the road at 7 p.m. on Sept. 23.
Fredericktown 43, Mount Gilead 22
A relentless rushing attack carried the Freddies at home on Friday. The Freddies improved to 3-2 and 1-1 in KMAC play, while Mount Gilead dropped to 3-2 and 1-1.
Fredericktown got on the board first with a 3-yard touchdown run by Kaid Carpenter and a made extra point to go up 7-0. The Indians responded with six points of their own on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Matt Bland to Owen High. In the second quarter, Fredericktown’s Ben Mast connected with Xavier Mullins for 11 yards and a touchdown, followed by a made extra point to go up 14-6. Bland then responded in a big way with a 74-yard touchdown pass to Logan High, and a 2-point conversion pass from Bland to Owen High made it a 14-14 game. Fredericktown took the lead before half on a 19-yard Teegan Ruhl touchdown run, and with a made extra point, it was a 21-14 lead for the Freddies.
In the third quarter, Mount Gilead took a 22-21 lead with a 2-yard run by Bland and a 2-point conversion by Garrett George. This lead would be short-lived, however, as the Freddies scored 20 unanswered points the rest of the way, starting with Mast tossing a 9-yard touchdown to Carpenter, and the 2-point conversion was good. In the fourth quarter, Ruhl ran in a 40-yard touchdown and Mast scored on a 1-yard run, with both extra points made.
The Freddies finished with 366 yards rushing on the day, led by Teegan Ruhl's 24 rushes for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Kaid Carpenter ran the ball six times for 138 yards and a touchdown. Mason Hoeflich had six carries for 32 yards. Ben Mast went 3-for-4 passing for 32 yards, which included a pair of touchdown passes. He also had a 1-yard touchdown run. Xavier Mullins and Carpenter each had touchdown catches. Luke Veyon was 5-for-5 on extra points.
Mount Gilead had 197 yards rushing and 133 yards passing. George led the rushing attack with 102 yards on 19 carries. Bland had 22 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown. Owen High ran the ball three times for 16 yards.
Bland went 7-for-14 for 133 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Logan High was his main receiver with four catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. Owen High had a pair of catches for 34 yards and a touchdown. Cam Vickers had a catch for 10 yards.
“We had a tough time shutting them down,” said Mount Gilead coach Mike Reid. “They are big up front and get after it. I'm proud of how we battled. We were able to put together a 14-play drive, a 12-play drive and a 16-play drive had a 22-21 lead with a little under four minutes left in the third. We still need to work on staying consistent.”
Fredericktown has a tough matchup ahead against the 4-1 Northmor Golden Knights. The home conference game starts at 7 p.m. on Sept. 23. Next for the Mount Gilead Indians are the Bulldogs of East Knox for an away conference matchup at 7 p.m. on Sept. 23.
Centerburg 28, Loudonville 21
After Louisville went up by two touchdowns in the first half, the fifth-ranked Trojans battled back for a 28-21 victory on a touchdown pass by Tyler Johnson with less than a minute left in the game.
With 2:49 left in the first quarter, Loudonville’s (2-3, 0-1) Matthew Sprang scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, and with Aidan Neibert nailing the extra point, it was 7-0. Sprang scored again on a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:45 left in the half, and it was 14-0 going into halftime after a made extra point.
Centerburg (4-1, 1-0) got on the board with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter on a 4-yard touchdown run by Johnson, with the kick good by Dominic Vargo. With 9:04 left in the fourth quarter, Johnson hit Mason Turske for a 34-yard touchdown pass, making it 14-14 with the extra point made. Sprang scored with 5:01 left on a touchdown pass to Peyton Regan for 8 yards to take a 21-14 lead. With 4:40 on the clock, Caylan LeMaster ran the ball in from 53 yards out to tie up the game. Late-game heroics came via a 23-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to LeMaster with 31 seconds remaining. The Trojans were able to hold on for the 28-21 win.
Centerburg controlled the time of possession by a little more than 2 minutes, as well as total yards, 346-272. The name of the game for Centerburg was rushing, with the Trojans piling up 241 yards at a 5.5 yards-per-carry clip.
The leading rusher was LeMaster with 24 carries for 164 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Johnson ran the ball 20 times for 77 yards and a touchdown. Throwing the ball, Johnson was 10-for-19 for 105 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The top receiver was LeMaster with four catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. Turske had one catch for a 34 yard touchdown.
Defensively, Tristan Hankinson had four tackles and a sacks. Tanner Holt had 11.5 tackles. John Geiger forced a fumble that was recovered by Cameron Alloway.
Centerburg next takes on Cardington-Lincoln at home for a KMAC matchup on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
