By Cort Reynolds
After a close and low-scoring first half, Bluffton High School lost 30-14 to visiting backyard rival Allen East in a Northwest Conference football showdown between the last two remaining league unbeatens Friday night, October 7, at Harmon Field.
The Pirates fell out of a first-place tie with Allen East atop the NWC with the Homecoming loss as the Mustangs snapped their four-game win streak.
Bluffton is now 5-3 overall, dropping to 4-1 in the league and into a second-place tie with Columbus Grove after the loss.
AE improved to 7-1 with their fifth straight win. The Mustangs stand alone in first in the NWC at 5-0 after the victory.
After a scoreless first quarter, AE broke the ice on a 26-yard field goal by Braylon Kennedy with 7:51 left in the first half.
Braeden Jordan hauled in a long Garret Bogart pass on the ensuing Pirate possession, but the drive stalled.
The Mustangs responded by driving downfield to score the game's first touchdown. AE converted on third and two near the Pirate 20. Jacob Hershberger's pass was broken up by Hayden Dearth in the end zone.
A screen pass to Jack Hoel gained 11 yards just inside the Pirate 10 in the final minute. Senior quarterback Hershberger then ran for seven yards to the two.
With 23 seconds left in the half, AE found paydirt on a two-yard run. Kennedy's PAT kick extended the score to 10-0 heading to intermission.
Bluffton's offense was stopped on the first drive of half two. AE took over at its own 38 but two consecutive penalties started the drive negatively.
But Hershberger rushed for 19 yards on first and 20 to reverse that. Joe Hoel then scurried for a first down. Hershberger broke a tackle in the backfield, slipped another potential stop and scampered 38 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.
The Kennedy PAT kick made it 17-0 with 8:26 left in the third period.
A Hershberger 44-yard touchdown scamper advanced the Mustang margin to 24-0 at the 5:15 mark.
After the ensuing kickoff, Bogart's pass was deflected and caught by a Pirate for a first down. Griffin Stackhouse then recovered a pitchout fumble and advanced it nine yards.
A long pass was nearly caught on a Gavin Bogart diving effort, but the ball was jarred loose and fell incomplete when his body hit the ground. A Garret Bogart slant pass moved the chains again.
But once they moved into AE territory, a long pass was intercepted by Mustang senior Bryce Avery.
Landon Shutler hammered Hershberger for a loss and caused a fumble that Pirate Ian Rieman recovered at the AE 15 with under two minutes left in the third quarter.
Sophomore Noah Bricker rushed to the AE six for first and goal. On third down from the two on the first play of the fourth period, senior back Shutler found paydirt on a two-yard TD run.
Bogart's two-point conversion pass to Bricker in the back of the end zone cut the deficit to 24-8 with 11:56 remaining.
Hershberger was sacked for a big loss by Xavier Luginbihl. But Hershberger gained it all back on a long run for a first down to move the chains.
The Mustangs went for it on fourth down and converted on a long pass to Keaton Layman down to the Pirate seven. Jack Hoel then scored on a seven-yard TD run to all but put the game out of reach.
The extra point was missed after a low snap to keep the score 30-8.
Jordan went up and wrestled a long pass away from a Mustang defensive back for a big gain to the AE 34. A sack by Landen Risner was erased by another fine pass from Bogart to Jordan for 21 yards.
With 5:32 left, Garret Bogart connected with Gavin Bogart for an 18-yard TD reception. The two-point pass try fell incomplete.
AE's only loss thus far this season came in week three to Elmwood, 53-21. Since then, the Mustangs have won five games in a row by a combined score of 186-46.
1 2 3 4 F
AE 0 10 14 6 30
Bluf 0 0 0 14 14
Notes and stats
Bluffton netted 239 yards on 52 plays (4.6 yards per snap). Meanwhile, AE amassed 369 total yards on snaps (5.8 avg.).
The Pirates rushed for 60 yards and passed for 179. The Mustangs compiled 287 rushing yards and 82 aerially.
Garret Bogart completed 13 of 24 passes for 179 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Worcester led the Pirates with 20 yards rushing on six carries. He scored TDs.
Bricker added 14 yards on two runs, and Shutler scored the lone Pirate rushing TD.
Jordan snagged five yards aerials for 85 yards.
Hayden Dearth grabbed four receptions for 56 yards. Gavin Bogart made two catches for 21 yards and one TD.
Quinn Eachus and Shutler each caught one aerial.
Hershberger completed eight of 14 passes for 82 yards. He threw for two scores and also rushed for two TDs. He netted 150 yards rushing.
Bluffton converted six of 12 third down tries, and was 0-0 on fourth down. The Mustangs made it on seven of 11 third down attempts, and went 0-1 on fourth down tries.
AE compiled 20 first downs while Bluffton amassed 12 chain-movers.
The Mustangs committed one turnover on a fumble, while the Pirates made two miscues on a pair of interceptions.
The Pirates were penalized four times for 20 yards, while the Mustangs were flagged five times for 34 yards.
Luginbihl was in on 10 tackles, including three solos. He had two tackles for loss and a sack. Shutler assisted on five of his seven stops, and added a sack and a tackle for loss.
Carson Kruse was in on 10 tackles with nine assists.
Bluffton visits league foe Delphos Jefferson (4-4, 3-2 NWC) in week nine. The Wildcats won big at home 39-14 over slumping Leipsic Friday.
The Pirates are 16th in the Div. V, Region 18 rankings. DJ is 14th in the Div. VII, Region 26 computer ratings. The top 16 teams in each region make the postseason.
