By Cort Reynolds
DEFIANCE - The visiting Bluffton football team scored the final 21 points to break away from a tie and whip Defiance Ayersville 35-14 in their first road game Friday night.
The non-league contest was knotted 14-14 after an eventful first quarter.
But Bluffton held Ayersville scoreless over the last three periods, and managed to score one touchdown in each of those stanzas to win going away.
The Pirates completed the non-league portion of their regular season schedule with a 2-1 record after the win, while the Pilots fell to 0-3 with the defeat.
Bluffton scored first when Nate Schaadt tossed a 38-yard TD pass to Baylor Garmatter just 72 seconds into the fray. The point after kick by Kyle Koontz made it 7-0.
The Pirates then doubled their lead when Schaadt and Tyson Shutler hooked up on an 80-yard catch and carry TD pass. The Koontz PAT kick built the lead to 14-0 with 5:35 still left in the opening period.
Ayersville responded with a three-yard scoring pass from Jakob Trevino to Ike Eiden. The extra point kick by Chase Eitniear sliced the deficit to 14-7 with 2:56 to go in the first quarter.
Eitniear then found paydirt on a seven-yard run with 37 seconds left in the high-scoring quarter, and his PAT boot tied it 14-14.
Schaadt put Bluffton back on top for good on a one-yard plunge 3:22 before intermission. Another Koontz extra point kick made it 21-14 at the half.
The athletic Garmatter gave Bluffton some breathing room when he scampered 29 yards to the end zone with 7:15 left in the third period. A fourth PAT kick by Koontz gave Bluffton a 28-14 cushion.
Workhorse back Tucker Neff put the game out of reach on a six-yard TD run with 10:24 remaining. Koontz made it five-for-five on extra point kicks to finish the scoring, 35-14.
Notes and stats
The Pirates rolled up 447 yards in offense to just 180 yards by Ayersville. Bluffton averaged 8.8 yards on their 51 plays while limiting Ayersville to just 3.2 yards on 57 plays.
The Pirates racked up 18 first downs to 13 by the Pilots.
Bluffton netted a whopping 329 yards rushing on 47 attempts for seven yards per run. Neff led the victors with 181 yards rushing on 15 carries. Garmatter netted 84 yards on eight tries, and Schaadt contributed 42 yards on 10 rushes.
The Pilots mustered just 60 net yards rushing on 34 runs. Eitniear led them with 82 yards on 12 carries. He also caught three passes for 32 yards.
Trevino completed 14 of 23 passes for 120 yards. Schaadt completed two of four throws for 118 yards and two TDs with one interception.
Shutler and Garmatter each had one reception for a long TD.
Bryan Basinger led the Bluffton defense with seven solo tackles and one sack. He also was credited with four tackles for loss. Garmatter added 6.5 stops.
Bluffton was flagged nine times for 75 yards while the hosts were whistled for three penalties covering 25 yards. The Pirates committed one turnover while Ayersville had two miscues, both on fumbles.
1 2 3 4 F
Bluf 14 7 7 7 35
Ayer 14 0 0 0 14
NWC opener at Ada
Bluffton (2-1) visits local rival Ada (1-2) in the Northwest Conference lidlifter Friday, Sept. 20.
The Bulldogs crushed local non-league rival USV (2-1) in a weather-postponed Saturday night game, 45-14.
Ada lost their first two non-league games to New Bremen (51-21) and at Arlington (26-12).
The Pirates beat Ada 43-14 at Harmon Field in 2018. The Bulldogs won their last meeting in War Memorial Stdaium by a 42-17 count. Bluffton ended an eight-game losing skid to Ada in 2015, 27-21.
