Crisp Chiefs blank Lakers in opener
It was a dashing opening night performance for Bellefontaine, while Indian Lake found out it needs more time to work the kinks out.
The retooled Chiefs were sharp throughout and took advantage of three crucial Indian Lake miscues en route to a 20-0 shutout of the visiting Lakers at AcuSport Stadium.
“I am so proud of our kids and assistant coaches,” said Bellefontaine head coach Jason Brown, who picked up his first win in his second era of leading the Chiefs. “They worked tirelessly to put our best foot forward tonight.
“We had a lot of inexperienced kids get their first real taste of varsity football tonight. They believed that if they gave good effort, good things would happen, and that’s what we saw tonight. I could not be more pleased with the effort all of our young men gave.”
Despite its youth and inexperience, Bellefontaine had only one turnover and was penalized just four times.
Indian Lake, on the other hand, was victimized by two turnovers and a blocked punt. Two of those led directly to touchdowns for Bellefontaine.
“We got frustrated and we let our frustrations play out on the field,” said Indian Lake head coach Dave Coburn. “We lost our focus and couldn’t get it back.
Pirates pummel Crestline 53-7 in season opener
Once Riverside’s football team got its offensive wheels greased in the opening quarter, there was no stopping the Pirates.
The Pirates dominated visiting Crestline for a 53-7 win Friday in a Northwest Central Conference and season opener.
“It was awesome tonight,” said RHS head coach Bryce Hodge. “The kids understand it is a privilege to play right now. The spring and summer season got cut short for us, so it was just awesome to see another team and hit someone else for a change.
“We were really proud of how they played and executed. The kids eliminated a lot of mistakes and did a nice job.”
The senior duo of Ethan Jackson and Kale Long powered the Riverside offense.
WL-Salem grinds out 36-21 win over Greeneview
After getting caught on its heels early, West Liberty-Salem’s football team gutted out a 36-21 win over visiting Greeneview on Friday in an Ohio Heritage Conference crossover game to start the season.
In his first start at quarterback, WL-Salem junior Christian Griffith gave a clutch performance and delivered in key moments. He completed 23-of-30 passes for 297 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 88 yards on 15 carries and three scores.
Offensively, the Tigers piled up 453 total yards of offense.
Raiders hang tough in first half, but fall to London 28-13
Benjamin Logan’s football team held its own for the first half Friday against visiting London, but the Red Raiders gained traction and pulled away for a 28-13 victory in the second half.
It was a tight first half as both teams shook off the rust from a chaotic offseason caused by the coronavirus. London outgained Ben Logan 273-222 in total yardage.
Triad rolls past Southeastern
Triad kicked off its season with a 34-6 win over host Southeastern on Friday.
Triad led 13-0 after one quarter and 27-0 at halftime.
The Cardinals pushed their lead to 34-0 at end of the third period.
Southeastern got on the scoreboard with a touchdown in the final quarter.
The Cardinals piled up 195 rushing yards on 21 carries.
For more on these games, grab a copy of Saturday’s edition of the Examiner.