A back-and-forth offensive battle between Bellefontaine and Indian Lake was settled by a blocked extra-point kick Friday night.
After Indian Lake closed to within a point on a Clay Jacobs touchdown run with 1:20 remaining, Bellefontaine’s Jacob Kidwell got his hands on the ensuing extra-point try, sending the ball to the turf as the host Chiefs held on for a 35-34 victory at AcuSport Stadium.
“What a fantastic effort by our team and coaching staff,” said Bellefontaine head coach Toby Smith, who took in the contest from outside the stadium while serving the second game of his two-week disciplinary suspension. “I am so proud of what they were able to accomplish tonight against a quality opponent.
“Our assistant coaches Jason Brown, Rick Reed, Ryan Ormsbee, Scott Rose, Brian Greavu, Jeremy Clifton and Josh Jones did a great job handling the team these last couple of weeks.”
It was an agonizing result for the Lakers, who outgained the Chiefs 358- 305 in total yards.
Indian Lake trailed by two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter before mounting a late comeback.
“Our guys are going to go to battle every day for their school, their community and each other,” said
Indian Lake head coach Dave Coburn. “I don’t expect that to change.
“Give credit to Bellefontaine for battling through some adversity. I felt like we took a step forward tonight, just not quite big enough of one.”
Both teams took an injury hit in the first half. Bellefontaine standout running back Garrett Gross aggravated an ankle injury he suffered last week against Benjamin Logan and left the game for good in the first quarter.
“To be able to respond the way these guys did when one of our senior leaders went down shows you what type of a team this is,” said Smith. “It’s a special group of guys.”
Promising Indian Lake running back Elijah Slagle, who got off to a good start with 50 yards on seven carries, was forced to exit the game after taking a hard hit.
Jacobs did his best to put the Lakers in position to win the game, rushing for 189 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries and passing for an additional 90 yards and another score.
“Coach Coburn does a great job with them and they have an excellent quarterback,” said Smith. “It was kind of an offensive chess match and it came down to one big stop.”
Bellefontaine (4-1) jumped out to an early lead after forcing a Laker turnover.
Indian Lake (3-2) fumbled on the first offensive play of the game and the Chiefs’ Ethan Moore recovered at the Lakers’ 47-yard line.
Bellefontaine then put together a nine-play scoring drive that was capped off by a 3-yard Gross touchdown run. Nate Hecker booted the first of five extra-point kicks to give the Chiefs a 7-0 lead at the 7:58 mark of the opening
Indian Lake knotted the game at 7-7 with a 14-yard touchdown run by Slagle with 2:51 left in the first quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Bellefontaine’s Ty Leeper slipped through the Indian Lake defense for a 13-yard touchdown run to put the hosts up 14-7.
The Lakers countered with a 24-yard TD run by Jacobs to tie the score at 14-14 with 8:04 remaining in the first half.
Bellefontaine regained the lead shortly before halftime as quarterback Grant Smith tossed a 16-yard TD pass to Leeper to give the Chiefs a 21-14 lead at the break.
The Chiefs marched the ball down the field for another touchdown to start the second half, with Smith throwing a 36-yard TD pass to Leeper to finish off a 58-yard drive that increased the BHS lead to 28-14.
Indian Lake struck back, going on a 70-yard scoring drive. Jacobs capped it with a 3-yard TD pass to Austin Parker to make the score 28-21.
Smith went to the air again early in the fourth quarter to put Bellefontaine back up by two scores. He found Tucker Newland running free down the seam for a 28-yard touchdown connection and a 35- 21 Bellefontaine lead.
The Lakers were unfazed as they answered with a quick scoring drive that saw Jacobs race to the end zone for a 47-yard touchdown run. That cut the Chiefs’ lead to seven with 8:48 left in the game.
Bellefontaine was forced to punt on its ensuing possession and the Lakers took over at their own 47-yard line.
Jacobs engineered another scoring drive as the Lakers covered the 53 yards on 11 plays. Jacobs applied the finishing touch with a seven-yard TD keeper that pulled the visitors within a point with 1:20 remaining.
The Chiefs then came up with the clutch block on the extra-point attempt to preserve their lead.
After recovering an onside kick, Bellefontaine was able to run out the rest of the clock.
Smith turned in a strong night throwing the ball for the Chiefs, going 11-of-13 for 122 yards and the three touchdowns. He also ran for 75 yards on 20 carries.
Brandon Hayes contributed 67 rushing yards on 14 carries and Gross had 28 yards on six rushes before suffering his injury.
Leeper made two catches for 52 yards, Newland had 44 receiving yards on four grabs, Cole Comstock had 15 yards on three catches and Zayne Reed had a pair of receptions for 11 yards.
Luke Jackson contributed 30 rushing yards on five carries for the Lakers. Chase Coburn had four catches for 41 yards, Kaleb Hurley had 27 yards on four catches, Jackson had one catch for 10 yards and Lane Mefford added one grab for nine yards.
Both teams are back in action Friday. The Chiefs host Springfield Shawnee and Indian Lake travels to North Union.