On a cool night with wet and muddy field conditions, Indian Lake used some blue collar football to stifle rival Bellefontaine on Friday.
Indian Lake’s Alex Jacobs fights off Bellefontaine defender Collin Palmer during their game Friday at Indian Lake High School. (EXAMINER PHOTOS | TONY BARRETT)
The host Lakers stayed undefeated and set up a Week 10 showdown with unbeaten Benjamin Logan after handling the Chiefs 38-13.
Indian Lake is now 9-0, while the Chiefs drop to 5-4.
Senior quarterback Alex Jacobs cranked out 198 rushing yards on 23 carries as Indian Lake outgained Bellefontaine 388 to 240 in total yardage.
“The offensive line and backs did a great job blocking,” said Jacobs, who rushed for four touchdowns and passed for another. “Those guys are the ones that did all the work. They made my job easy.”
Jacob Hulbert added 92 yards and a touchdown on the ground for an Indian Lake offense that averaged almost eight yards per rush.
Defensively, the Lakers limited a dangerous Bellefontaine rushing attack to 100 yards on 35 carries.
“Our offensive and defensive lines played lights out tonight,” said Indian Lake head coach Dave Coburn. “I can’t say enough about the way those guys played up front.”
Bellefontaine struggled to find a rhythm offensively against a fast and physical Indian Lake defense.
“Give Indian Lake credit,” said Bellefontaine head coach Toby Smith. “They executed very well on both sides of the football. Their coaching staff did a great job of preparing them and they executed well.
“We did not do the things we thought we would be able to do. We didn’t execute very well and that is my responsibility. I am responsible for putting together a game plan that we are able to execute. I take fault for the lack of execution tonight.”
Indian Lake’s Andrew Hulbert runs down field as the Bellefontaine defense pursues.
The rugged Jacobs was again the star of the show for the Lakers. He scored on runs of 18, 45, 64 and 3 yards, and threw a 5-yard TD pass to Collin Coburn.
“We had kind of held back the reigns on some of our skill guys to make sure we got them to this point in the season healthy,” said Dave Coburn. “We let them loose a little tonight and allowed them play to their capabilities.”
Penalties have been an issue for the Chiefs all season and they were again stung by some critical miscues Friday. Bellefontaine was whistled for three 15-yard personal foul calls.
“We get caught up in the moment and don’t realize the ramifications of some of our decisions,” said Smith. “We have worked and worked on that, and I thought we were past it. But obviously, that wasn’t the case.”
Indian Lake jumped out to a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Lakers scored on their first offensive series after a long drive was capped by a 7-yard Hulbert touchdown run. The extra-point kick was off target, leaving the Lakers up 6-0 at the 8:47 mark of the first period.
Later in the opening quarter, Jacobs barreled through the Chieftain defense for an 18-yard scoring run. Parker Grothaus added the extra-point kick to give the Lakers a 13-0 cushion.
Bellefontaine got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter. Dezmin Lyburtus connected with Jack Clement for a 30-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-10 play. Derek Robb’s extra-point kick made the score 13-7 with 10:30 left until halftime.
Bellefontaine’s Dezmin Lyburtus works to avoid Indian Lake’s Collin Coburn as Laker teammate Branden Henderson (54) looks on.
Indian Lake answered on its ensuing possession. On the third play of the drive, Jacobs found a crease up the middle and raced 45 yards for a touchdown. The extra-point kick was blocked, making the score 19-7.
Jacobs dialed up another big play with 5:32 remaining in the first half when he ripped off a 64-yard touchdown run that gave the Lakers a 25-7 lead at halftime.
The Lakers stayed in control in the second half. Jacobs scored on a 3-yard keeper at the 5:02 mark of the third quarter to give the hosts a 31-7 lead.
Bellefontaine’s lone score of the second half came on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Chiefs’ Jerome Smith scooped up an Indian Lake fumble and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Lakers in front 31-13.
Indian Lake put the finishing touches on its big win with a 5-yard touchdown pass by Jacobs to Coburn with 4:12 remaining in the game.
Jacobs completed 11 of 16 passes. Coburn caught five passes for 39 yards, Nate Kaffenbarger had three catches for 25 yards, Tyler Reprogle had two catches for 15 yards and Grothaus added 20 yards on one catch.
Indian Lake’s Nate Kaffenbarger (10) is brought down by Bellefontaine’s Kaidon Hughes (24) and Jacob Boy (84) during the second half.
For the Chiefs, Lyburtus rushed for 60 yards on 21 carries and was 10-of-17 passing for 140 yards.
Clement made two catches for 58 yards, Treston Howell had three catches for 33 yards, Hayden Nease had two grabs for 21 yards, Johnny Ganson made two catches for 16 yards and Tommy Belser added one catch for 12 yards.
Bellefontaine’s Treston Howell is brought down by a pair of Indian Lake defenders.
Indian Lake hosts the Raiders on Friday and Bellefontaine wraps up its season at home against Kenton Ridge. A win over the Cougars would give the Chiefs an outright CBC Kenton Trail division title.
“It is imperative that our players put this game behind them and put all of their focus on Kenton Ridge,” said Smith. “This is it for our seniors. They have to realize that their careers are coming to an end and they have to relish every moment because when it’s gone, it’s gone.”
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CHIEFS @ LAKERS
Indian Lake 13 • 12 • 6 • 7 – 38
TEAM STATISTICS BFN • IL
First downs 13 • 15
Total net yards 240 • 388
Rushes/yards 35/100 • 37/290
Passing 140 • 98
Comp-att-int 10-17-0 • 11-16-0
Punts/avg 4/33 • 1/30
Fumbles-lost 1-1 • 1-1
Penalties-yards 2-30 • 2-20