Centerburg 34, Utica 6
Caylen LeMaster dominated on both sides of the ball for Centerburg (1-0, 0-0), with the senior rushing for close to 200 yards and scoring twice, as well as tallying eight tackles, to lead the Trojans to a 34-6 win over Utica (0-1, 0-0) on Friday night.
The Trojans scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter with Jesse Rings recovering a fumble and taking it back for a 22-yard score. Rings struck through the air, tossing a touchdown pass to LeMaster. Daniel LeMaster hit both extra points to make it a 14-0 game. Centerburg made it a 21-0 game at halftime on another Rings touchdown pass, this time for 22 yards to Trevin Harris.
In the third quarter, LeMaster ran the ball in from 15 yards out to make it a 27-0 game, but the Redskins got into the scoring with a 93-yard kickoff return taken back by senior Gavin Chinn. Trevin Harris made it a 34-6 game in the fourth quarter on a pick-six that went for 57 yards to cap off the scoring and secure the win.
LeMaster rushed for 189 yards on 24 carries, with a touchdown and a fumble. He also caught two passes for 16 yards, including a touchdown. LeMaster also had eight tackles and a sack. Rings was 10-for-20 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also had 5.5 tackles. Harris was his main target with four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown, and also scored a touchdown on the interception to go with 2.5 tackles.
Utica was led by Chinn, who had four kickoff returns for 129 yards and a touchdown. He also caught five passes for 17 yards. Quarterback Hayden Piper went 11-for-18 with 66 yards and two interceptions. Chase Bennett had three rushes for 28 yards, and defensively he posted seven tackles and had an interception. Gavin Tussey also picked off a pass for the Redskins.
Mount Vernon 43, Marion Harding 20
Mount Vernon (1-0, 0-0) had a huge second half fueled by senior running back Jonny Askew in a 43-20 win over Marion Harding (0-1, 0-0) in the first game of the season.
Askew gained 107 of his 125 yards in the second half, which included a 42-yard touchdown run. He had three touchdowns in the game. He also had a clutch interception returned 66 yards for a touchdown in the first half, which proved to be a spark plug for the club which had previously lost nine straight games.
Mason Richards was also a key offensive performer. The sophomore started the game at quarterback and hit Hayden Higgins for a 68 yard pass for his only completion of the day. He was substituted for Jake Taylor and moved to receiver, where he caught a 33-yard touchdown pass. Richards also recovered a fumble and showed his athleticism, taking it all the way back for a 97-yard score.
The Yellow Jackets forced five turnovers, led by sophomore Josiah Colon, who had an interception, two tackles for a loss and a pair of pass deflections. Also stepping up on defense were Reece Schonauer and Gage Kuhlman, who each recorded a sack.
Northmor 42, Upper Sandusky 21
Quarterback A.J. Bower led the way through the air for the Northmor (1-0, 0-0) football team on opening night, tossing a pair of touchdown passes to help beat Upper Sandusky (0-1, 0-0) 42-21.
Northmor scored two touchdowns in the first quarter to go up 14-7. Paul Cramer scored on a one-yard rushing touchdown and Jax Wenger caught a 51-yard pass for a score. In the second quarter, the Knights scored three times and the Rams scored, making it 34-14 at halftime. Cowin Becker started the scoring on a huge 87-yard pass play from Bower. After Kaden Holman hit Gavin Frey for a six-yard touchdown for the Rams, Hunter Fulk took an interception return for 43 yards, and then another for 58 yards, both for touchdowns.
In the third quarter, Carson Campbell broke free for a 30-yard run to score. Frey scored on a 62-yard pass play for the Rams in the fourth, but the damage was already done.
Bower went 11-for-19 passing with 255 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His favorite targets were Wenger (four catches for 82 yards) and Becker (three catches for 109 yards), as Bower connected with both for touchdowns. Carson Campbell ran the ball 12 times for 51 yards and a touchdown, while Cramer also scored a rushing touchdown. Caleb Schnuerer was 6-for-6 on extra points. Defensively, Hunter Fulk had two interceptions returned for 101 yards.
Mount Gilead 15, Triad 8
Mount Gilead (1-0, 0-0) opened the season against Triad (0-1, 0-0) and while the scoring was low, the Indians were able to walk away with what Coach Mike Reid called a “gritty” 15-8 victory to start the season on the good foot.
“Overall a very gritty opening effort for our boys,” Reid said after the game. “They stayed in the fight and went toe-to-toe defensively for four quarters. It was a great defensive effort. Offensively we had some nice drives but we did not finish them all."
The Indians got the scoring going with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Cole Fricke to Jacob Wilt. Fricke made the extra point to make it a 7-0 game. Triad then took an 8-7 lead on a oney-ard run by Awsom Mitchell, who also ran the ball in for a two-point conversion. The defense then helped Mount Gilead take a 9-8 lead in the second quarter, when Eliot Jones took down Mitchell behind the goal line for a safety. Fricke scored on a one-yard run in the third to take a 15-8 lead, and the Indians held on for the one-score win.
Mount Gilead set the pace with a steady running game by committee. They amassed 178 yards as a team and held Triad to only 36 rushing yards. The Indians had a 269-127 total yard advantage for the game. Fricke was the top rusher with 17 carries for 56 yards and a score from the quarterback position. In the air, Frick was 5-for-10 with 91 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Mason Barnum ran 12 times for 50 yards for thr Indians, Eliot Jones had 11 rushes for 37 yards and Carson Trainer ran six times for 35 yards.
East Knox 14, Northridge 0
East Knox (1-0, 0-0) relied heavily on the rush in their opening game of the season, eclipsing the 200-yard mark as a team with Blake Elliott scoring the game's only two touchdowns in a 14-0 win over Northridge (0-1, 0-0)
The Bulldogs scored once in the second quarter on a 14-yard Elliott run, and again in the third quarter on a tough 16-yard run in which he ran over defenders to secure the win. Elliott had 15 carries for 103 yards, averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Aaron White had 21 attempts for 112 yards rushing, good for 5.3 yards per carry. Jax Lester threw minimally, going 4-for-10 with 55 yards and an interception. His biggest play of the day was a 39-yard toss to Caden Wengard, who had two catches for 50 yards. Defensively, Elliott was a force with 9.5 tackles, with three for a loss, and a forced fumble. Bryar Householder had 4.5 tackles and a sack.
East Knox had 214 rushing yards and 55 yards in the air, while holding Northridge to only 14 passing yards and 72 yards on the ground.
Highland 35, Fredericktown 0
It was all Highland in the opening night football matchup between the Fighting Scots and the Fredericktown Freddies, with Highland controlling every facet of the game in a 35-0 blowout win.
Last season’s conference-leading rusher Dane Nauman gained 120 yards on 15 carries for thr Scots. Highland QB Kolton Stover completed 13 of 20 passes for 217 yards and three TDs. Kaydn Reichenbach caught four tosses for 115 yards and two touchdowns, and Ladon Hayes led the Scots’ defense with 6.5 tackles.
The Freddies, despite being down the entire game, used the run as their attack method. They combined for 162 yards at a 3.6 yard per carry clip. Elijah Roush and Blake Sipes were the top options with 12 carries apiece, with Roush tallying 48 yards and Sipes with 39 yards. Sipes threw for 58 yards and an interception on 7-for-15 passing. Gavin Toombs caught a pair of passes for 26 yards.
Cirk Parker was the top defensive performer for Fredericktown with 11.5 tackles, with 1.5 for a loss. Devon Whitt had nine tackles with one for a loss and Cam Koelble had seven tackles with one for a loss.
Loudonville 35, Mapleton 20
Matthew Sprang was on top of his game throwing and running the ball for Loudonville on opening night against Mapleton, with the senior quarterback combining for 280 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns to lead the Redbirds to a 35-20 win.
Loudonville jumped out to a 28-7 lead at halftime, starting with a two-yard touchdown run by Sprang with 1:25 left in the first. Mapleton responded with a score at the beginning of the second quarter, and tacked on a two-point conversion to take their only lead of the game. Sprang connected with Hunter Polen for a two-yard touchdown pass, and Aidan Neibert kicked the ball through the uprights to take a 14-8 lead. Sprang threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Camdyn Beachy with 1:41 left in the half to go up 21-8 after a PAT was good. Less than a minute later, Loudonville had an interception return for a score to make it a 28-14 game.
Mapleton scored in the third quarter, but the Redbirds added a touchdown in the fourth to on a two-yard run by Beachy. Mapleton scored in the fourth quarter also, but Loudonville kept the Mounties scoreless the rest of the way.
Sprang was 12-for 17 with 154 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He was also the top producer on the ground with 24 carries for 126 yards. Beachy had nine carries for 35 yards, and also caught three passes for 52 yards. Dakota Berry was the number-one option at receiver with four receptions for 67 yards.
While Mapleton put up 254 yards of rushing offense on 53 attempts, the air game was quiet with only 59 yards compared to 159 yards for the Red Birds.
Danville 55, Worthington Christian 21
They dynamic duo of Danville seniors Walker Weckesser and Cole Delaughder proved to be too much for Worthington Christian in the opening night of football, with the pair combining for five touchdowns in a 55-21 blowout victory for the Blue Devils on Friday night.
The Blue Devils and the Warriors went into halftime tied 14-14 and the game remained close in the third quarter with Danville adding 14 more points and Worthington Christian scoring a touchdown. Danville then went off for 27 unanswered points in the final quarter to cruise to victory.
Weckesser took to the air minimally going 4-for-8 with 20 yards, but he was a force on the ground with seven carries for 67 yards and three touchdowns. He also went 5-for-6 in PAT attempts.
Delaughder was the game’s top running back with 17 carries for 164 yards and a pair of scores. Fellow senior Bryer Boeshart also scored a touchdown and ran the ball twice for 33 yards. He also caught two passes for 12 yards and had two kickoff returns for 120 yards, including one that went for 93 yards. Junior Jacob Hackman had three carries for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Elgin 30, Cardington-Lincoln 0
It was a tough way to start the season for Cardington-Lincoln (0-1, 0-0) , as the Elgin Comets (1-0) dominated the Pirates on the gridiron in a 30-0 shutout.
Elgin scored six points in the first and 16 more points in the second quarter to take a 22-0 lead into halftime. The Comets scored eight more points in the third quarter and were able to hold the Pirates scoreless the rest of the way.
Journey Williams went 11-for-16 passing with 129 yards and interception for C-L. Wyatt Denney rushed 13 times for 44 yards. He also had seven tackles. Greg Donaldson had four receptions for 42 yards. Warren Garrison was solid on defense for the Pirates with six tackles and an interception. Zane Everly led all defenders with 7.5 tackles.
