Back-to-back titles for Chiefs
Miserable weather conditions could not keep Bellefontaine from capturing its second straight outright Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division title Friday night.
The Chiefs pulled away in the second half for a 28-6 win over visiting Kenton Ridge in a driving rain storm at AcuSport Stadium.
Bellefontaine wrapped up the regular season with a 9-1 overall mark and a 4-0 record in the Kenton Trail division.
The Chiefs also locked up the number-one playoff seed in Division III, Region 11. Bellefontaine will host a postseason game next Friday. The final computer rankings and playoff matchups will be announced Sunday.
On a night that the weather made it nearly impossible to complete a pass, the Chiefs relied on their ground attack and their defense.
Bellefontaine rushed for 361 yards on 49 carries and limited the Cougars to 98 total yards.
BHS sophomore running back Garrett Gross carried the ball 29 times for 177 yards and quarterback Dezmin Lyburtus rushed for 150 yards on 19 carries.
The Chiefs completed 2 of 3 passes for 15 yards and the Cougars were 1 of 5 passing for 22 yards.
Kenton Ridge (6-4, 1-3) came into the game averaging 34 points per game. In its four league games, Bellefontaine allowed a total of 12 points.
Bellefontaine led 7-6 at halftime and then outscored the Cougars 21-0 in the second half.
Lehman overwhelms Riverside, wins NWCC title
Lehman Catholic’s state-ranked football team dominated the first half against host Riverside and rolled to a 45-14 victory Friday to claim the outright Northwest Central Conference championship.
The Cavaliers, who are ranked sixth in the Division VII state poll, finish 9-1 overall and perfect in the NWCC at 7-0.
The Pirates end their regular season 6-4 overall and second in the league at 5-2.
Riverside has still locked up a state playoff berth according to www.joeeitel.com. Official playoff pairings will be released Sunday.
Junior quarterback Elliott Girardi spearheaded Lehman’s offensive attack on Friday. He tallied 176 rushing yards with two touchdowns and threw for 38 yards and a score.
The Cavaliers finished with 382 yards of total offense, and 344 of that came on the ground.
Tigers rumble past Jets
West Liberty-Salem’s football team wrapped up the regular season in convincing fashion Friday with a 35-0 win over host Northeastern in Ohio Heritage Conference play.
The Tigers finish the regular season 8-2 overall and tied for second in the OHC North Division with a 6-2 record. The Jets end the season at 1-9, 1-6.
The Tigers’ defense recorded its fourth shutout of the season. WL-Salem limited Northeastern to just 81 yards of total offense.
Senior Levi Moell had a big game for the Tigers at wide receiver. Moell finished with 116 receiving yards on three receptions and all three were touchdown catches.
Braden Miller piled up 162 rushing yards on 13 carries to aid the Tigers’ offense. Trevor Woodruff finished with 161 passing yards on five completions.
Defensively, Miller led the Tigers with eight tackles and Tevon McNutt added six tackles.