Fredericktown 22, Northmor 15
A defensive squeaker yielded only a safety in the first half, and a flurry at the end of the game made it close, as Fredericktown (4-2, 2-1) faced Northmor (4-2, 1-2) on Friday. The Freddies held only a 2-0 advantage at halftime before Fredericktown outscored Northmor by five points in the second half to secure a 22-15 victory.
The Freddies had a safety in the second quarter for the only score before half. In the third quarter, the Freddies scored with 9:45 left on a 51-yard touchdown pass by Ben Mast to Grant Hartley, and with an extra point it was 9-0. With 4:18 left, Teegan Ruhl went in from 5 yards out to make it 15-0, Fredericktown.
In the fourth quarter, with 11:52 on the clock, AJ Bower completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to Bo Bo Landin to get the Golden Knights on the board. The Freddies came right back and with 4:21 left, Kaid Carpenter caught a 1-yard touchdown pass for Fredericktown to make it 22-7. Then it was Northmor's turn, and with 1:37 left Bower hit Griffin Halea for a 4-yard score. A 2-point conversion pass to CJ Stoney made it 22-15. Despite the late surge by Northmor, the Freddies were able to hold on for the win.
The star of the game for Fredericktown was running back Teegan Ruhl, who once again put up big numbers with 31 rushes for 144 yards and a touchdown. He was given credit for 32 yards rushing on a gadget play in which there was a lateral, which put Ruhl over the 1,000-yard mark rushing on the season. He has 135 carries for 1,009 yards and 11 touchdowns to date.
Mast went 4-for-8 for 69 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His touchdown came on the 51-yard pass to Hartley, for Hartley's only catch of the day. Ruhl had two catches for 17 yards. Kaid Carpenter had a 1-yard touchdown catch.
Mason Hoeflich had nine tackles and a sack. Recording 0.5 sacks were Xavier Mullins, Devon Whitt and Lucas Herbst. Logan Small had an interception and six tackles. Bill Woodring had a forced fumble and six tackles, while Trevor Bellman recovered the fumble and recorded eight tackles.
Northmor was led by Bower, who went 22-for-40 for 232 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Caleb Schnuerer was the top Knights rusher with 10 carries for 42 yards. Griffin Halea had six catches for 46 yards and a touchdown. Landin caught five passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Carson Campbell had two interceptions and four tackles. Ashton Clark recorded 11 tackles and a fumble recovery.
Northmor looks to get back into the winning column on Sept. 30 with a game against East Knox at 7 p.m. on the road. The Freddies are also on the road on Sept. 30 against Loudonville for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Highland 42, Marion Harding 28
Thanks to another huge game on the ground by Dane Nauman, the state's No.6-ranked rusher going into the game, the Fighting Scots came away with a 42-28 victory on the road to improve to 4-2, and 3-0 in conference play Friday.
Marion Harding went up 8-0 early, but Highland’s offense woke up in the second quarter with 14 points. Marion Harding scored 13, and it was a 21-14 Marion Harding advantage at halftime. Highland then scored 14 points in each of the next two quarters while holding Marion Harding to seven points to take the win.
Nauman ran the ball 30 times for 336 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead the Fighting Scots to victory. Quarterback Kolton Stover was 6-for-9 for 59 yards and a touchdown. Zach Schmidt had three catches for 27 yards. Layton Shaffer had a 16-yard touchdown catch.
Defensively, Nauman was also a force with 12 tackles, with 4.5 coming for a loss. He also had 1.5 sacks. Also recording sacks were Stover and Clayton Vandyke, with Chandler Stevens posting a half sack. There were three fumble recoveries by Stevens, Shaffer and Ladon Hayes.
Additionally, Nauman had 65 kickoff return yards, giving him 401 all-purpose yards on the day.
Next up for the Fighting Scots is a home conference matchup against Shelby on Sept. 30 with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Centerburg 47, Cardington-Lincoln 14
The Centerburg Trojans (5-1, 2-0) gained 555 yards in total offense to cruise to a 47-14 win over the Cardington-Lincoln Pirates (1-5, 0-3) on Friday.
The first quarter was all Centerburg, as the Trojans went up 14-0. The first score was on a 5-yard touchdown run with 8:58 left by Caylan LeMaster, and with 6:32 left Centerburg scored again on an 18-yard touchdown run by Tyler Johnson.
With 10:35 left in the second quarter, Kaiden Beach of the Pirates ran the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown to make it 14-7. Centerburg responded with a touchdown pass for 8 yards from Johnson to Jesse Rings with 6:58 left. The Pirates scored with 2:36 left in the half on a touchdown pass for 3 yards from Beach to Ashton Plowman, making it 21-14.
In the third quarter, LeMaster scored on a six-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds left. LeMaster scored two more touchdowns with 8:33 and 1:13 left in the fourth quarter, from 16 and 41 yards, to seal the win.
Centerburg was fueled by a rushing attack of 8.5 yards per carry with 376 yards. LeMaster had 20 rushes for 182 yards and four touchdowns. Johnson carried 23 times for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson also had a strong game in the air, going 9-for-16 with 179 yards and a touchdown. Jesse Rings was the top receiver with four catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.
LeMaster had five tackles to lead the team. Cam Alloway had 4.5 tackles and a sack. Trevin Harris had an interception, and Johnson completed his all-around day with four tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass break ups
Leading the Pirates was Kaiden Beach with 15 carries for 141 yards and a touchdown. He was also 7-for-22 with 104 yards and a touchdown to Ashton Plowman, who had three catches for 13 yards. Wyatt Kenney had 13 tackles and a sack. Colin McAvoy posted seven tackles.
Cardington-Lincoln looks to bounce back on Sept. 30 with a 7 p.m. home conference matchup against Danville. Centerburg faces Mount Gilead on the road, also on Sept. 30, at 7 p.m.
