Benjamin Logan head football coach Jeff Fay said his team focused on three games during the preseason, with those being matchups against local rivals West Liberty-Salem, Bellefontaine and Indian Lake.
Benjamin Logan’s Josh Whitten returns a fumble recovery 23 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Bellefontaine Friday inside AcuSport Stadium. (EXAMINER PHOTO | TONY BARRETT)
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The Raiders have been successful in the first two of those anticipated games following a 28-21 come-from-behind victory over the host Chieftains at AcuSport Stadium on Friday.
“It feels great to win the first two of those,” said Fay, who was sporting a “Beat The Lake” T-shirt after Friday’s win. “We felt like if we could win two of those three we would have a good chance of making the playoffs. I spoke to (Indian Lake coach Dave Coburn) this week and we talked about how fun it would be if we were both 9-0 entering that game in Week 10.”
The Raiders, who trailed 21-6 at halftime Friday, keep their perfect record intact at 5-0. Bellefontaine drops to 2-3.
A 13-yard touchdown run by quarterback Trey Wilson and a two-point conversion toss from Derek Coy to Nick Brown gave the Raiders a 22-21 lead with 9:58 remaining in the game.
A 23-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Josh Whitten with 2:19 left put the Raiders in front by seven points.
An interception on Bellefontaine’s ensuing drive preserved the win for the Raiders.
“I am really proud of our veteran guys for their leadership,” said Fay. “When we needed a play, they stepped up and made one.”
After scoring three touchdowns and putting up nearly 200 yards of offense in the first half, the Chiefs were limited to no points and 36 yards in the second half.
Penalties continued to be an issue for the Chiefs, who were whistled 11 times for 129 yards.
“I was more disappointed that we had opportunities in the first half to extend the lead and we didn’t take advantage of them,” said Bellefontaine head coach Toby Smith. “We had numerous mistakes in every facet of the game and that cost us the game. We have to be more disciplined.”
The Raiders struggled on both sides of the ball at times in the first half, but executed well offensively and defensively in the second half.
“Our kids had the halftime of their lives,” said Fay. “There was a little bit of bickering in the first half, but our kids got together among themselves at halftime and worked that out. I am proud of our juniors and seniors for the way they came together.”
Bellefontaine got off to a quick start early on as Dezmin Lyburtus threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Nease on the third play of the game. Derek Robb’s extra-point kick made the score 7-0 with 10:41 left in the first quarter.
The Raiders answered on their ensuing possession with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Trent Berry. The conversion attempt failed, leaving the Chiefs up 7-6.
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On Bellefontaine’s next offensive series, a 9-play, 72-yard scoring drive was capped by a 9-yard Lyburtus TD run. Robb drilled the extra point to give the Chiefs a 14-6 lead with 5:55 left in the first period.
Bellefontaine increased its lead to 21-6 at the 2:06 mark of the second quarter on a 7-yard run by Nease and the extra-point kick by Robb.
The Raiders whittled away at Bellefontaine’s lead in the second half. Wilson brought his team to within a touchdown on a 1-yard plunge with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Wilson followed with his 13-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. On the conversion attempt, backup quarterback Derek Coy took the snap and started running forward. He then stopped and flipped the ball to Nick Brown in the end zone. Brown made an acrobatic catch for the two points, which put the Raiders on top for the first time of the game.
Whitten tacked on his key defensive play late in the game.
“We have to look inward and recognize the things we need to fix,” said Smith. “Our goals are still out in front of us. We just have to work hard and get better.”
The Raiders finished with 256 yards of offense, while Bellefontaine had 225.
Wilson rushed for 57 yards on 29 carries and passed for 156. Grant Ward caught three passes for 48 yards, Whitten had six grabs for 32 yards, Waugh had two catches for 34 yards and Berry added 48 yards on two catches.
For the Chiefs, Lyburtus rushed for 105 yards on 23 carries and threw for 57 yards. Nease rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries and caught two passes for 39 yards.
Cole Waugh had an interception for the Raiders, while Kaidon Hughes had two interceptions for Bellefontaine.
The Chiefs travel to Tecumseh on Friday and the Raiders are back in action at home against Northwestern.
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RAIDERS @ CHIEFS
Bellefontaine 14 • 7 • 0 • 0 – 21
TEAM STATISTICS BL • BFN
First downs 17 • 10
Total net yards 256 • 225
Rushes/yards 37/97 • 37/168
Passing 159 • 57
Comp-att-int 15-32-2 • 7-15-1
Punts/avg 4/37 • 5/36.4
Fumbles-lost 3-1 • 1-1
Penalties-yards 7-45 • 12-129