Indian Lake wins battle of unbeatens
When history beckoned for a second-straight season, Indian Lake’s football team answered.
Indian Lake Lakers leave the field victorious in Friday’s battle of unbeatens against in county rival Benjamin Logan. (EXAMINER PHOTO | AARON LaBATT)
The Lakers battled their way to the program’s first ever undefeated season with a 35-16 win against visiting Benjamin Logan Friday in a game that determined the outright Central Buckeye Conference Mad River division champions.
In addition to capturing a second-straight division crown with a 4-0 record, the win also locked up a second consecutive state playoff berth for Indian Lake, who is ranked 15th in the Division IV state poll.
While the official OHSAA state playoff pairings will not be released until Sunday afternoon, it appears the Lakers have secured a first-round home game. And even with the loss, the Raiders appear to have secured the program’s first ever playoff berth with a road game.
For more on this story, see our Game of the Week coverage.
Chiefs roll to Kenton Trail crown
Bellefontaine wrapped up its outright Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division title with a manhandling of Kenton Ridge on Friday.
Bellefontaine’s Jerome Smith returns a fumble recovery for a touchdown in the Chieftains’ 42-6 victory over Kenton Ridge on Friday. (EXAMINER PHOTO | TONY BARRETT)
The Chiefs raced to a 42-6 halftime lead en route to a 49-6 victory over the Cougars in the season finale at AcuSport Stadium.
Bellefontaine finished 6-4 overall and 4-0 in the CBC Kenton Trail division to earn its championship trophy.
Bellefontaine outgained the Cougars 407-210 in total yardage. The Chiefs also forced five Kenton Ridge turnovers.
Junior quarterback Dezmin Lyburtus rushed for 104 yards on 12 carries to go over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. He also completed 7-of-13 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior Hayden Nease closed out his career with three touchdowns, while the Chieftain defense got into the scoring column twice with a pair of fumble returns for touchdowns.
The Chiefs rushed the ball 32 times for 225 yards.
Treston Howell contributed 46 yards on four carries and Hayden Nease had 30 yards on five carries.
Nease had two catches for 63 yards, Johnny Ganson had a pair of grabs for 57 yards, Jack Clement caught two balls for 52 yards and Tommy Belser had one catch for 13 yards.
Defensively, D.J. McDonald and Kaidon Hughes had interceptions and Evan Smith added a fumble recovery.
WL-Salem races past Catholic Central for key victory
West Liberty-Salem’s football team came up with a crucial win Friday by defeating host Springfield Catholic Central 45-6 in an Ohio Heritage Conference regular season finale.
The Tigers finish the season 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the OHC, while the Irish are also 6-4 and 4-3.
While unofficial, it appears WL-Salem has made the playoffs by slipping into the eighth seed in Region 24. If that holds true when the final rankings are announced Sunday on www.ohsaa.org, the Tigers would have to travel to Marion Local in the opening round.
Brandon Wolfe sparked the Tiger offense with 57 rushing yards on nine carries and Luke Woods had 55 passing yards and 46 rushing yards.
Defensively, Chase Humphrey and Braden Miller led the Tigers with six tackles each and Adam Schultz had three tackles and two sacks.
Pirates sink Polar Bears
Riverside finished the regular season with a 54-8 rout of host Hardin Northern in a Northwest Central Conference football game.
The Pirates move to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the NWCC. The Polar Bears finish at 3-7, 3-4.
While the final computer ratings won’t be released until Sunday, it looks like the Pirates will be left out of the postseason.
Riverside rolled up 410 rushing yards Friday, with Caleb Stevens and Peyton Scherer each going over the 100-yard mark.
Scherer had 119 yards on eight carries and Stevens had 101 yards on just two rushes. Ollie Jacobs added 64 yards on three carries.
Stevens added two catches for 67 yards. Trey Helmlinger had 83 passing yards.
Defensively for the Pirates, Hunter Goings had a pair of fumble recoveries, Hakes made nine tackles and had a fumble recovery, Blake Sacks had seven tackles, Joey Kaeck had six tackles and a sack and Trey Long added seven tackles and one sack.
Northeastern attacks early to put away Triad
Northeastern built an early lead to wear down visiting Triad on Friday and pulled away for a 44-20 Ohio Heritage Conference victory to end the season.
The Cardinals wrap up their season with a 1-9 overall record and a 1-6 OHC finish. The Jets finish at 5-5 overall and 4-3 in the OHC standings.
Triad’s Briley Harlan finished with 84 rushing yards and 97 passing yards, while Dylan Rice tallied 45 rushing yards on 11 carries.
USV topples Ridgemont to clinch NWCC title
Upper Scioto Valley races past visiting Ridgemont for a 55-8 win Friday to wrap up a share of the Northwest Central Conference championship.
The Rams secure a state playoff berth andfinish 7-3 overall, while tying Lehman Catholic at 6-1 to split the NWCC title. The Gophers finish their 2016 campaign at 3-7 overall and 1-6 in the NWCC.
Cameron Smith led Ridgemont’s efforts on offense with 121 rushing yards on 21 carries and a touchdown, while Brandon Bennett had 44 rushing yards on 11 carries and a two-point conversion. Zavier McGue added 27 receiving yards on four catches.
Defensively for the Gophers, Zavier McGue led the way with 10 tackles and Smith had eight tackles.