Danville 28, Cardington-Lincoln 20
Cardington-Lincoln (1-6, 0-4) hosted a tough Danville (6-1, 3-0) squad last week and while the Pirates hung tight with the Blue Devils, they couldn’t complete the upset in a tight 28-20 loss.
Danville, third-ranked in Division VII, Region 25, went up 14-0 after one quarter, but the Pirates put six points on the board in the second to make it 14-6 going into the half. Danville scored seven points in the third and the Pirates scored six points making it 21-12, and while Cardington-Lincoln outscored Danville 8-7 in the fourth, it was not enough to mount a comeback.
Danville was led by Max Payne, who had 12 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a pair of passes for 23 yards and was big in special teams action with a 60-yard punt.
Walker Weckesser had a strong day behind center, going 11-for-15 for 119 yards and two touchdowns, good for a 135.8 quarterback rating. He also ran the ball 14 times for 59 yards. The top Danville receiver was Aidan Burke with three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. Kaiden Colopy had a 10-yard touchdown grab.
Levi Lyons led the defense with 15 tackles, one sack and a hurry. Gavyn Lepley had two tackles and a sack. Caleb Lucas recorded seven tackles and a sack. Wesley Payne had three tackles and a interception. There were three forced fumbles – one each by Colopy, Lepley and Lucas. Kendall Carter recovered two fumbles and Max Payne recovered a fumble, as well.
Cardington-Lincoln was led by Kaiden Beach, who was 6-for-7 passing for 53 yards. He also had four carries for 18 yards and a touchdown. Warren Garrison went 3-for-4 for 75 yards in the air.
Wyatt Kenney had 10 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown. Ashton Plowman ran the ball four times for 40 yards, including a touchdown. The top receiver was Kaylin Briggs with five catches for 86 yards.
The Pirate defense was led by Colin McAvoy, who had 11 tackles, including three for a loss. Plowman had five tackles and a sack, while Kayden Gwilym also had a sack.
On Friday, the Blue Devils face Centerburg at home and the Pirates have a home game against Loudonville, both with kickoff at 7 p.m.
Loudonville 38, Fredericktown 35
On another huge day for running back Teegan Ruhl of the Fredericktown football team (4-3, 2-1), not even his amassing more than 200 yards on the ground could push the Freddies to victory, as Loudonville took a close one by a score of 38-35.
Ruhl was a workhorse for the Freddies, carrying the ball 37 times for 221 yards and scoring four touchdowns. He also caught a 45=yard touchdown pass from Ben Mast, who went 7-for-11 passing with a touchdown and an interception. The top receiver was Xavier Mullins with three receptions for 44 yards.
Kaid Carpenter had five tackles and an interception. Carter Mull had four tackles and also picked off a pass. Trevor Bellman posted seven tackles while also forcing two fumbles and recovering a pair of fumbles as well. Mullins and Cameron Koebl had half a sack each, with Koebl recording 4.5 tackles.
Through seven games, Ruhl now has 1,230 rushing yards with a 7.2-yard average and has scored 15 touchdowns.
On Oct. 7, the Freddies will take on East Knox at 7 p.m. at home.
Highland 44, Shelby 20
Highland’s Dane Nauman continued to tear apart defenses with his relentless running game. His most recent performance propelled the Fighting Scots to a 44-20 win against Shelby to improve to 5-2 and 4-0 in conference play. Highland is the top team in the Mid-Ohio Conference this season.
Nauman ran the ball 39 times to wear down the Whippets. He gained 308 yards and scored five touchdowns, rushing the ball at a 7.9-yard average. Chandler Stevens also had a solid day running the ball with five carries for 123 yards. The team had 452 total rushing yards, averaging 9.6 yards per carry. Kolton Stover was 4-for-8 for 54 yards and ran three times for 21 yards. Kort Sears caught a 43-yard pass and Zach Schmidt caught three passes for 11 yards.
Matt Scarbury led the defense with five tackles and an interception. Hayden Kline picked off two passes and Schmidt also had an interception. Chandler Stevens forced and recovered a fumble. Landon Pedigo and Kline each recovered fumbles.
Highland looks to continue its winning ways on Oct. 7 with a home conference matchup against Galion at 7 p.m.
Centerburg 28, Mount Gilead 14
Centerburg (6-1) and Mount Gilead (4-3, 2-2) went head to head on Friday night and thanks to a robust ground attack led by Tyler Johnson, the Trojans were able to run their way to victory over the Indians, 28-14.
Centerburg came in ranked seventh in Division V, Region 19, and it kicked off the scoring with 6:45 on the clock in the first quarter when Caylan LeMaster ran the ball in from 1 yard out, and with the point after attempt by Dominic Vargo it was a 7-0 game. Johnson then put the Trojans up 14-0 on a 40-yard touchdown pass to Mason Turske with 4:35 left in the quarter.
The Indians, ranked sixth in Division VI, Region 23, put six points on the board with 57 seconds left in the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Matthew Bland, but the two-point conversion attempt failed.
Centerburg’s offense was on point with 391 total yards, and the brunt of the ball movement came on the ground for the Trojans, with 247 yards. Johnson was 12-for-17 passing with 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns. This gave him a solid quarterback rating of 135.4 on the day. He was also the top performer on the ground with 22 carries for 188 yards and a touchdown. LeMaster had 13 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. He also caught a pass for 14 yards. The top receiver was Jesse Rings with four catches for 41 yards. Turske caught two passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Hankinson caught four balls for 37 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Centerburg was led by Gauge Stepp with 10 tackles. Jesse Rings picked off a pass. LeMaster and Hankinson each recorded half-sacks.
Mount Gilead was led by Bland, who went 9-for-15 for 113 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball 18 times for 112 yards and a touchdown. Garrett George had 17 carries for 59 yards. He also caught three passes for 15 yards and a touchdown. Gabe Simpson had two receptions for 24 yards. Mason Barnum caught a pass for 38 yards, and Logan High caught two passes for 19 yards.
Both teams continue their seasons on Friday at 7 p.m., with Mount Gilead traveling to Northmor and the Trojans on the road to face Danville.
