JOHNSTOWN — Centerburg scored 27 first-quarter points on Friday to defeat host Northridge, 39-12.
The Trojans (2-6, 2-3) used the big play to great effect, scoring four times on plays of 35 yards or longer, and three of those were for 50 yards and more. Centerburg’s first score was by T.T. Thompson, who hauled in a 64-yard TD pass from Drew Osborne for a 7-0 lead. The Vikings (1-6, 0-5) came back to within one point, 7-6, on Kolt McDaniel’s 5-yard run later in the quarter, but Osborne had his own 5-yard scoring scamper later for a 14-6 Trojans advantage.
Centerburg wasn’t done for the period, however, scoring twice more on a 54-yard pass from Osborne to Luke Donaldson and on Jason Ratliff’s 35-yard run. The Trojans led 27-6. McDaniel scored his second touchdown of the game, another 5-yarder, in the second quarter to pull Northridge to within 15 points, 27-12, at the half.
Centerburg, however, had yet another big play in its pocket, a 70-yard TD pass from Osborne to Josh Michael, to put the team up, 33-12. Osborne tallied again in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard dive which closed the scoring.
Centerburg will host league-leading Fredericktown on Friday.
Ashland stuns Colts, 35-28
ASHLAND — Football games can change in the blink of an eye, as Clear Fork found out the hard way on Friday.
The Colts led Ashland by two touchdowns in the middle of the third quarter, but the Arrows scored two touchdowns in the next 51 seconds to tie the game, and tallied its third TD less than two minutes after that to stun Clear Fork, 35-28.
The Colts (6-1, 4-2) had an efficient running game, with 265 yards on 39 carries. Travis Hissong completed 9-of-22 passes for 70 yards, but much of that was in Clear Fork’s comeback attempt later in the game. Ashland (7-0, 5-1) had 104 rushing yards, but went 15-of-26 through the air for 154 yards and two scores. The Colts fumbled the ball away three times to twice for the Arrows.
Ashland had the first score of the game with 5:02 to play in the first quarter, as Marcus Fuller completed a 2-yard TD throw to Matt Dilgard for a 7-0 lead. Clear Fork responded on its next drive, when Hissong found Jake Dickerson for a 13-yard touchdown pass with 1:27 left to tie the game.
An Arrow fumble set up the Colts for a quick score, and Jordan McCune had a 2-yard TD run at the 11:14 mark of the second quarter to put his team up, 14-7. Ashland scored again with 6:50 to go in the half, when Fuller hooked up with Chris Dowiatt for a 54-yard pass and a 14-14 tie. Using its running game to keep the clock moving, Clear Fork took the lead again before the half on Hissong’s 3-yard TD run with 2:15 left.
The Colts continued to run in the third quarter, and McCune scored his second touchdown with 5:25 to play in the quarter to make the score 28-14. But then things fell apart. Chris Thomas took the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for an Ashland touchdown, and the Colts turned the ball over soon after. This led to Fuller’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Dowiatt with 4:34 to play, which in a 51-second span tied the game at 28.
With momentum now going their way, the Arrows scored at the 2:49 mark on Fuller’s 1-yard run to go up, 25-28. Ashland finished the game with a scoreless fourth quarter to take the victory.
McCune rushed 20 times for 106 yards for the Colts, and Dickerson caught two passes for 20 yards and a touchdown.
Running game leads Scots to 14-0 win
SPARTA — On a wet night in Sparta, Highland’s running game was as important as ever, and led the Scots to a 14-0 Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference win over Buckeye Valley.
Highland (6-2, 6-1) had 63 plays in the game, with 60 on the ground for 260 yards. This helped the Scots more than double the Barons’ (6-2, 6-1) time of possession, 32:23 to 15:37. Highland converted 7 of 15 third downs to just 2 of 10 for Buckeye Valley, and on defense gave up just 170 total yards.
The Scots dominated possession from the start, holding the ball 9:14 in the first quarter alone. They took their second possession at the 7:26 mark of the quarter and finished it with 29 seconds left on Justin Staton’s 4-yard TD run. Zach Miller booted the extra-point to give Highland a 7-0 lead. Neither team produced much the rest of the half, although the Scots kept their possession advantage.
The Barons had three drives end in a fumble and two punts in the third quarter; Highland did little better. In the fourth quarter, however, the Scots had possession for a full 10:13, taking over with 11:21 left in the game and running a drive which lasted 8:15. After 14 plays, Matt Young found daylight for a 27-yard touchdown run which increased the lead to 14-0. Buckeye Valley ran off a seven-play drive before the Highland defense stopped it on downs with 1:58 left.
Staton ran 30 times of 114 yards, and Young rushed 12 times for 78 yards. Artie McAndrew gained 63 yards on 14 carries. Quarterback Jake Ulrey completed 1-of-3 passes, with Derrick Patrick catching one pass for 4 yards. Cody Hughes ran 18 carries for 85 yards for the Barons, but 51 of those yards came on two carries.
Highland will host winless Ridgedale on Friday.
Johnstown slogs out 13-6 win
JOHNSTOWN — Johnstown and Danville slogged through the wet conditions on Friday to a scoreless first half, but an interception returned for a touchdown gave the Johnnies the impetus in a 13-6 Mid-Buckeye Conference win.
The Blue Devils (1-6, 1-4) outgained the Johnnies (3-5, 2-3) 191-168, due to a 66-7 edge in passing yards. Danville completed 10-of-19 passes to just 1-of-4 for Johnstown, but turnovers blighted both teams’ aerial games.
The Blue Devils tossed four interceptions on the night, and Johnstown gave up two picks and four fumbles. The Johnnies were also hampered by 11 penalties for 85 yards. Johnstown, however, had Brad Couts, who ran 31 times for 141 yards, which was 84 percent of the Johnnies’ attack.
Both teams played a sloppy first half, marred by turnovers, and went into the break tied at 0. Danville had a drive going well in the third quarter, but Marcus Durbin tossed a pass right into the hands of Johnstown’s Scott Robinson, who took off from his own 25 yard line to race 75 yards for the game’s first score with 1:43 to play in the third quarter. Patrick Benton’s kick made it 7-0.
Johnstown rode the momentum into the fourth quarter, getting the ball back early on another turnover. The Johnnies handed off repeatedly to Couts, who broke through for a 1-yard TD run at the 10:53 mark to put his team up, 13-0. The teams traded drives again in the period, but the Blue Devils finally scored with 1:40 left on Heath Buckingham’s 1-yard plunge.
Buckingham paced Danville with 23 carries for 83 yards, and Zach Brewer ran nine times for 40 yards. Reed Franklin had one carry for 13 yards for Johnstown.
Johnstown will travel to East Knox Friday for a 7 p.m. MBC contest, and Danville will be on the road to face second-place Utica.
Loudonville dominates East Knox, 54-0
LOUDONVILLE — Loudonville dominated time of possession and, ultimately, the score against East Knox on Friday, winning 54-0.
The Redbirds (5-3, 4-1) scored two touchdowns in each of the first and third quarters and three touchdowns in the second quarter before slowing to one in the fourth quarter. They rushed 46 times for 330 yards, and completed 5-of-5 passes for 122 yards. Loudonville did not punt in the game, and made 20 first downs.
The Bulldogs (2-6, 2-3) had 38 carries for 136 yards and went 4-of-14 for 34 yards through the air.
No scoring summary was submitted
