Delaware Buckeye Valley 24, Richwood North Union 20
RICHWOOD -- Buckeye Valley's Jekyll-and-Hyde offense was downright scary on Friday the 13th, as the Barons used their ground game to come back from an 14-0 first quarter deficit and defeat the North Union Wildcats 24-20 in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action at North Union High School.
Buckeye Valley (2-2, 2-1) gained 286 yards of total offense, all of it on the ground, and held North Union (2-2, 1-2) standout senior tailback Russ Crosthwaite to 64 yards on 18 carries. But Crosthwaite gained 27 of that total on one touchdown run late in the first quarter and had accounted for all three Wildcat scores.
The Barons' mistakes killed them in their two previous losses, and it looked like it would happen again early on. Buckeye Valley's opening drive stalled, but they were reprieved when North Union was called for roughing the kicker on the punt. The break didn't help the Barons, though, as Chris Hughes fumbled the ball at the Baron 43 and North Union's Kyle Reames recovered at the BV 47. Six plays later, Crosthwaite bowled over from a yard out, giving the Cats a 7-0 lead.
A wild snap from center on another punt attempt gave the Wildcats the ball on Buckeye Valley's 27 with 29 seconds left in the period. One play and seven seconds later, Crosthwaite scored again, sprinting around left end and by the Baron defense.
But after the ensuing kickoff, the tide turned. Buckeye Valley drove 62 yards on 12 plays in just under six minutes, and Hughes closed the drive with a one-yard dive to close the score to 14-6.
On the next North Union play from scrimmage, Kyle Rehner forced Crosthwaite to fumble at the Wildcat 10, then recovered the ball at the North Union two. Two plays after that, Rehner blasted through the right side of the line for the touchdown. Suddenly, it was a game again.
The Baron special teams pinned North Union deep in their own territory on the Cats' next drive, but almost got the ball back when Justin McMahon separated the ball from the Barons' Adam Hall after catching a punt. The Barons' Ethan Baker jumped quickly on the loose ball, giving BV a first down at the Wildcats' 44-yard line.
Four plays later, the ball was on the Wildcat five, and Hughes again capped the drive with a one-yard plunge, putting Buckeye Valley ahead for the first time, and for good, 18-14.
Another fumble early in the third nearly spelled disaster for the Barons. The Wildcats took the ball on the Baron 37 and two plays into the drive, quarterback Colt Thomas found receiver Justin McMahon on a 29-yard touchdown pass. But the play was wiped out as North Union was penalized for illegal motion. Another attempted pass from Thomas to McMahon was dropped on fourth down, and the Barons took over with 6:50 left in the third.
The Barons then held the ball for the next nine minutes, 11 seconds, finally capping their 16-play, 74-yard march with a Rehner eight-yard touchdown run, putting Buckeye Valley ahead by 10 points, 24-14. But North Union countered with a long drive of their own, going 81 yards on 13 plays and closing it with a Crosthwaite one-yard run to cut the Cats' deficit back to four.
Buckeye Valley tried to run out the clock with their next drive, but the Wildcats' Eric Setzer forced Rehner to fumble, and Reames recovered to give North Union one last chance with 2:06 left. But Thomas was sacked on the first play from scrimmage, threw an incomplete pass to McMahon and was sacked again on third down, this sack injuring the senior quarterback. Thomas suffered an as yet undetermined neck injury and was taken away by ambulance.
On fourth down, Reames stepped behind center, but his pass missed Crosthwaite, and the Barons were finally able to extinguish the clock.
Sophomore Nathan Roberts, starting his first game as Baron quarterback, was 0-for-4 through the air, but led all rushers in the game with 101 yards on 11 carries. Rehner, who started at quarterback last season and the first three games of 2002, moved to running back and gained 75 yards on 14 carries. Hughes also had 67 yards on 15 totes while Ryan Smart, who re-injured a nagging foot and re-aggravated the injury in practice earlier in the week, carried 14 times for 65 yards.
Crosthwaite's 64 yards rushing accounted for the North Union run attack, as the rest of the Wildcat rushers netted minus-2 yards. Thomas completed 4-of-15 passes for 69 yards before his injury. Jason Morse and McMahon each had two catches, Morse for 41 yards and McMahon for 28.
Both teams return to MOAC play Friday, Buckeye Valley hosting Marion Elgin and North Union traveling to Morral to face Ridgedale.
Buckeye Valley........0...18.....0.....6..........24
North Union..........14.....0.....0.....6..........20
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
NU - Russ Crosthwaite 1 run (Colt Thomas kick), 7:13. (6 plays, 47 yards, TOP 2:14)
NU - Russ Crosthwaite 27 run (Colt Thomas kick), :22. (1 play, 27 yards, TOP 0:07)
SECOND QUARTER
BV - Chris Hughes 1 run (kick blocked), 6:31. (12 plays, 62 yards, TOP 5:51)
BV - Kyle Rehner 2 run (pass failed), 5:41. (2 plays, 2 yards, TOP 0:43)
BV - Chris Hughes 1 run (run failed), 2:16. (5 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:28)
FOURTH QUARTER
BV - Kyle Rehner 8 run (run failed), 9:39. (16 plays, 74 yards, TOP 9:11)
NU - Russ Crosthwaite 1 run (kick failed), 5:09. (13 plays, 96 yards, TOP 4:30)
STATISTICS..............................BV..........NU
First-Downs.............................20............8
Rushes-Yards....................58-286.....27-62
Passing-Yards............................0..........69
Comp-Att-Int.......................0-4-0....4-16-0
Total-Offense.........................286........131
Punts-Avg..........................1-18.0....4-31.0
Fumbles-Lost.........................7-3...........2-1
Penalties-Yards.....................6-51.......2-30
Possession-Time.................30:12......17:48
RUSHING: Buckeye Valley - Nathan Roberts 11-101, Kyle Rehner 14-75, Chris Hughes 15-67, Ryan Smart 14-65, Tony Cain 1-0, Team 3-(minus-22); North Union - Russ Crosthwaite 18-64, Adam Tanner 2-19, Keenan Chapman 2-(minus-2), Colt Thomas 5-(minus-19).
PASSING: Buckeye Valley - Nathan Roberts 0-4-0-0; North Union - Colt Thomas 4-15-0-69, Kyle Reames 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: Buckeye Valley - None; North Union - Jason Morse 2-41, Justin McMahon 2-28.
INTERCEPTIONS: Buckeye Valley - None; North Union - None.
RICHWOOD -- Buckeye Valley's Jekyll-and-Hyde offense was downright scary on Friday the 13th, as the Barons used their ground game to come back from an 14-0 first quarter deficit and defeat the North Union Wildcats 24-20 in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action at North Union High School.
Buckeye Valley (2-2, 2-1) gained 286 yards of total offense, all of it on the ground, and held North Union (2-2, 1-2) standout senior tailback Russ Crosthwaite to 64 yards on 18 carries. But Crosthwaite gained 27 of that total on one touchdown run late in the first quarter and had accounted for all three Wildcat scores.
The Barons' mistakes killed them in their two previous losses, and it looked like it would happen again early on. Buckeye Valley's opening drive stalled, but they were reprieved when North Union was called for roughing the kicker on the punt. The break didn't help the Barons, though, as Chris Hughes fumbled the ball at the Baron 43 and North Union's Kyle Reames recovered at the BV 47. Six plays later, Crosthwaite bowled over from a yard out, giving the Cats a 7-0 lead.
A wild snap from center on another punt attempt gave the Wildcats the ball on Buckeye Valley's 27 with 29 seconds left in the period. One play and seven seconds later, Crosthwaite scored again, sprinting around left end and by the Baron defense.
But after the ensuing kickoff, the tide turned. Buckeye Valley drove 62 yards on 12 plays in just under six minutes, and Hughes closed the drive with a one-yard dive to close the score to 14-6.
On the next North Union play from scrimmage, Kyle Rehner forced Crosthwaite to fumble at the Wildcat 10, then recovered the ball at the North Union two. Two plays after that, Rehner blasted through the right side of the line for the touchdown. Suddenly, it was a game again.
The Baron special teams pinned North Union deep in their own territory on the Cats' next drive, but almost got the ball back when Justin McMahon separated the ball from the Barons' Adam Hall after catching a punt. The Barons' Ethan Baker jumped quickly on the loose ball, giving BV a first down at the Wildcats' 44-yard line.
Four plays later, the ball was on the Wildcat five, and Hughes again capped the drive with a one-yard plunge, putting Buckeye Valley ahead for the first time, and for good, 18-14.
Another fumble early in the third nearly spelled disaster for the Barons. The Wildcats took the ball on the Baron 37 and two plays into the drive, quarterback Colt Thomas found receiver Justin McMahon on a 29-yard touchdown pass. But the play was wiped out as North Union was penalized for illegal motion. Another attempted pass from Thomas to McMahon was dropped on fourth down, and the Barons took over with 6:50 left in the third.
The Barons then held the ball for the next nine minutes, 11 seconds, finally capping their 16-play, 74-yard march with a Rehner eight-yard touchdown run, putting Buckeye Valley ahead by 10 points, 24-14. But North Union countered with a long drive of their own, going 81 yards on 13 plays and closing it with a Crosthwaite one-yard run to cut the Cats' deficit back to four.
Buckeye Valley tried to run out the clock with their next drive, but the Wildcats' Eric Setzer forced Rehner to fumble, and Reames recovered to give North Union one last chance with 2:06 left. But Thomas was sacked on the first play from scrimmage, threw an incomplete pass to McMahon and was sacked again on third down, this sack injuring the senior quarterback. Thomas suffered an as yet undetermined neck injury and was taken away by ambulance.
On fourth down, Reames stepped behind center, but his pass missed Crosthwaite, and the Barons were finally able to extinguish the clock.
Sophomore Nathan Roberts, starting his first game as Baron quarterback, was 0-for-4 through the air, but led all rushers in the game with 101 yards on 11 carries. Rehner, who started at quarterback last season and the first three games of 2002, moved to running back and gained 75 yards on 14 carries. Hughes also had 67 yards on 15 totes while Ryan Smart, who re-injured a nagging foot and re-aggravated the injury in practice earlier in the week, carried 14 times for 65 yards.
Crosthwaite's 64 yards rushing accounted for the North Union run attack, as the rest of the Wildcat rushers netted minus-2 yards. Thomas completed 4-of-15 passes for 69 yards before his injury. Jason Morse and McMahon each had two catches, Morse for 41 yards and McMahon for 28.
Both teams return to MOAC play Friday, Buckeye Valley hosting Marion Elgin and North Union traveling to Morral to face Ridgedale.
Buckeye Valley........0...18.....0.....6..........24
North Union..........14.....0.....0.....6..........20
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
NU - Russ Crosthwaite 1 run (Colt Thomas kick), 7:13. (6 plays, 47 yards, TOP 2:14)
NU - Russ Crosthwaite 27 run (Colt Thomas kick), :22. (1 play, 27 yards, TOP 0:07)
SECOND QUARTER
BV - Chris Hughes 1 run (kick blocked), 6:31. (12 plays, 62 yards, TOP 5:51)
BV - Kyle Rehner 2 run (pass failed), 5:41. (2 plays, 2 yards, TOP 0:43)
BV - Chris Hughes 1 run (run failed), 2:16. (5 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:28)
FOURTH QUARTER
BV - Kyle Rehner 8 run (run failed), 9:39. (16 plays, 74 yards, TOP 9:11)
NU - Russ Crosthwaite 1 run (kick failed), 5:09. (13 plays, 96 yards, TOP 4:30)
STATISTICS..............................BV..........NU
First-Downs.............................20............8
Rushes-Yards....................58-286.....27-62
Passing-Yards............................0..........69
Comp-Att-Int.......................0-4-0....4-16-0
Total-Offense.........................286........131
Punts-Avg..........................1-18.0....4-31.0
Fumbles-Lost.........................7-3...........2-1
Penalties-Yards.....................6-51.......2-30
Possession-Time.................30:12......17:48
RUSHING: Buckeye Valley - Nathan Roberts 11-101, Kyle Rehner 14-75, Chris Hughes 15-67, Ryan Smart 14-65, Tony Cain 1-0, Team 3-(minus-22); North Union - Russ Crosthwaite 18-64, Adam Tanner 2-19, Keenan Chapman 2-(minus-2), Colt Thomas 5-(minus-19).
PASSING: Buckeye Valley - Nathan Roberts 0-4-0-0; North Union - Colt Thomas 4-15-0-69, Kyle Reames 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: Buckeye Valley - None; North Union - Jason Morse 2-41, Justin McMahon 2-28.
INTERCEPTIONS: Buckeye Valley - None; North Union - None.