No. 1 Garaway (12-0, 5-0) made easy work of No. 9 East Knox (7-5, 5-2) in the Division VI, Region 23 OHSAA football regional quarterfinals on Friday, leading by six touchdowns at halftime and never looking back in a 49-7 rout.
The Pirates led 7-0 after Dillon Soehnlen ran it in from eight yards out, and Anderson Colon kicked it through the uprights. They would go on a scoring barrage in the second quarter, with Brady Geibel throwing for touchdown passes of 24 yards and 40 yards to Wyatt Wallick and Jenson Garber. Colon kicked both extra points to make it 21-0.
The second quarter onslaught continued when Soehnlen ran it in from 16 yards out, and a Colon kick made it 28-0. Geibel connected with Garber for the second time and Colon’s kick put the Pirates up 35-0.
Soehnlen capped off the first half scoring on a one-yard touchdown run, and it was 42-0 at halftime.
The Bulldogs finally got on the board in the third quarter on a one-yard Blake Elliott touchdown run, and Will Jensen’s kick put the score at 42-7. In the fourth quarter, Luis Wahl scored on a three-yard run for Garaway, and Colon’s kick made it 49-7 for the final. In the playoffs Garaway is now outscoring opponents 94-14
It was a quiet day for Elliott, but he led the offense with 14 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Jax Lester was 7-for-11 for 93 yards and an interception. He connected twice with Bracen Davis for 25 yards and three times for 64 yards with Caden Wengerd.
On defense, Bryar Householder had seven tackles with three for a loss, and a sack. Elliott had seven tackles and Wengerd had eight tackles. Alex Dolby had three tackles, all for a loss.
Soehnlen had three rushing touchdowns in the win for Garaway, while Geibel threw for three scores with two to Garber.
The Bulldogs were 3-for-8 on third down but Garaway had a 17-8 first down advantage. Garaway was 3-for-6 on third down and 2-for-2 on fourth down.
Elliott had a heck of a junior season, playing in all 12 games with 1.379 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns at seven yards per carry. Elliott also had 159 tackles and two sacks, three fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles. He was a first team All-KMAC selection and ked the KMAC in rushing yards and average yards per carry.
Also first team All-KMAC was Davis, who finished out his career at East Knox leading the KMAC in receptions. Including the playoffs he had 50 catches and 754 yards and nine scores in 12 games.
Senior Alex Dolby was first team, as well. He was a guard on offense and defensive end on defense, where he tallied 59 tackles, three sacks and a fumble recovery.
Senior Bryar Householder was a force on defense, and another defensive lineman getting a first team nod. He had 84 tackles with 16 for a loss, and 13 sacks. He also forced a fumble. Householder was a tight end on offense, tallying 22 catches for 220 yards and a touchdown.
Lester was only a sophomore but earned a first team selection, as well. On defense he had a team high four picks, and also had 46 tackles. Under center he was 100-for-187 for 1,388 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also had five rushing touchdowns and 375 yards on the ground.
Earning second team All-KMAC was Shane Gardner and Will Jensen, with Derrick Field an honorable mention. Joshua Keith was All-Academic.
Garaway now faces the No. 4 Northmor Golden Knights (10-2, 6-1) on Nov. 10 in the regional semifinals.
