Danville 19, Loudonville 7
The Danville Blue Devils (5-1, 2-0) played a controlled game on both sides of the ball and took a 19-7 win over the Loudonville Redbirds in front of a home crowd Friday. Max Payne led the way running the ball, with a pair of touchdowns and 86 yards on 18 carries. He also had a 29-yard catch and was 2-for-2 passing for 27 yards. Defensively, Payne posted seven tackles.
Walker Weckesser was 11-for-21 passing for 128 yards. On the ground, he had 10 carries for 32 yards and a touchdown. The top receiver on the day was Kaiden Colopy with six receptions for 68 yards.
Defensively, Colopy had six tackles and an interception. Levi Lyons led the team with nine tackles and forced a fumble. Ryan Lucas and Dillon Looney each recorded a sack. Jacob Hackman had an interception and a pass deflected and two tackles. Dustin Beckett had a forced fumble and a fumble recovered, as well as four tackles. Kendall Carter had five tackles and a fumble recovery.
Danville faced Cardington-Lincoln next on Sept. 30.
Mount Gilead 22, East Knox 6
Mount Gilead (4-2, 2-1) traveled to East Knox (2-4, 1-2) for a conference matchup, and while trailing early, it was all Indians in a 22-6 win.
East Knox got on the board in the first quarter. Jaxon Lester hit Carson Steinmetz on a short pass that Steinmetz turned into a 73-yard touchdown after dodging and evading defenders before hitting the open field and sprinting for paydirt. However, this would be the only scoring play Mount Gilead would allow all game.
In the first quarter, Mount Gilead responded with a 7-yard interception return for a touchdown by Matt Bland, with Bland also running in the 2-point conversion. In the second quarter, Owen High caught a 27-yard pass from Bland, and with a 2-point conversion run by Bland it was a 16-6 game at half. Garrett George completed the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
While East Knox gained 285 yards passing, they were held to only 4 yards on the ground. Mount Gilead finished with 149 rushing yards and 160 yards passing for a balanced attack.
Leading Mount Gilead was Bland, going 4-for-9 in the air for 160 yards and a touchdown. He also carried 10 times for 62 yards. George had 21 carries for 87 yards and a score. High had two catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Carson Trainer caught one for 64 yards.
East Knox was led by Lester, who was 21-for-43 passing for 285 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Steinmetz had eight reception for 120 yards and a touchdown. Bracen Davis caught five passes for 68 yards.
"What a great battle by both teams tonight,” said Mount Gilead Coach Mike Reid. “I am very pleased with our heart and our fight. We put ourselves in some bad spots, but the boys always moved onto the next play … and made some huge plays. The defense played very well again. I am not a huge fan of cliché, but we bent at times and did not break. It's a good night when you record eight sacks, have three takeaways and have a defensive score. Their defense played well, too, but I give credit for our offensive guys who took what East Knox gave us. We never got frustrated and the kids really implemented our adjustments well."
East Knox next faced Northmor at home in a conference matchup on Sept. 30, and Mount Gilead took on Centerburg on Sept. 30.
Newark Catholic 42, Utica 0
Turnovers were a major issue for Utica (2-4, 0-1) with five interceptions and a lost fumble on their way to a 42-0 loss at Newark.
Newark Catholic scored 21 points in the first quarter, 14 points in the second quarter and seven points in the third quarter.
For Utica, Zach Heckman was 13-for-22 passing with 105 yards and three interceptions. Hayden Piper was 6-for-12 passing for 51 yards and an interception.
The Redskins finished with 66 yards rushing, led by Justin Giffin with four carries for 22 yards. The top receiver was Hayden Smith, who hauled in nine catches for 96 yards. Giffin had six catches for 21 yards.
Leading the Utica defense was Jordan Hartman with six tackles. Logen Fisher and Hayden Piper each had five tackles.
Utica looked to get back into the win column on the road against Heath High School on Sept. 30.
