Bellefontaine’s football team has successfully navigated through the first two legs of the battlefield known as the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division portion of its schedule.
The Chieftains will look to remain unscathed Friday when they host Jonathan Alder for another challenging divisional test.
Bellefontaine (6-0, 2-0) is the lone team of the six Kenton Trail division members to win both of its league games so far.
The Chieftains can solidify their hold on first place in the KT with a win over the Pioneers, who come in with a record of 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the league.
“They are a very talented football team,” said Bellefontaine head coach Jason Brown of the Pioneers. “They are balanced offensively and run the ball really well, and defensively they are very sound and make you earn everything you get.”
Bellefontaine has dropped three straight to the Pioneers, including a 42-7 defeat last year in Plain City.
The Chieftains hope to turn the tide in the series on Friday as they try to build on the momentum created with wins over Tecumseh and Springfield Shawnee the last two weeks.
In last Friday’s 53-32 win over the Braves, it was an historic performance for sophomore quarterback Tavien St. Clair, who threw for a school-record 412 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Chieftain defense also made some big plays in what was arguably the team’s best overall performance of the season. With that said, Brown said his players must turn their full focus to the Pioneers.
“As a staff, we were proud of the effort last week on both sides of the ball,” said Brown.
“But a big part of our culture since I’ve been here is the focus on being 1-0. We are a 1-0 football program. We want to play up to our standard and play as good of complimentary football as we can.”
Since Jonathan Alder entered the CBC in 2017, it has contended for the KT division title every season. The Pioneers have won the division twice and finished runner-up the other three times.
The Pioneers are again fighting for the top spot in the KT this fall as they have used a blue collar approach to success.
Alder is just fourth of the six KT teams in scoring (205 points) and has given up more points (150) than all but one.
But the Pioneers are capable of putting up big yards in the running game behind junior Cameron Jewell and their defense has flashed stretches of dominant play as well.
Jewell (6-0, 180) enters Friday’s game as the leading rusher in the CBC with 1,063 yards on 120 carries. He is averaging nearly nine yards per rush. He has 16 rushing TDs to his credit this season.
In last week’s 49-16 win over Kenton Ridge, Jewell exploded for 373 rushing yards and six touchdowns on just 17 carries.
“Jewell is a slasher and he has big-play ability,” said Brown. “It’s huge for us to be able to limit his big runs. Those types of plays can change momentum. We need to make sure he earns everything he gets.”
While Jewell is by far the heart of the Alder offense, senior quarterback Doug Nussbaum can be a threat as well. He has passed for 390 yards and has rushed for 112.
“The quarterback is a solid runner, too, and we can’t overlook his ability to run the ball,” said Brown.
The Pioneers’ most disruptive defensive player has been 6-3, 225-pounder junior Alex Boggs, who has made 22 tackles, with six for loss, and four sacks.