Visiting Bluffton hung close for a while at undefeated Columbus Grove, but ultimately was shut out 31-0 by the league champions in a Northwest Conference bout Friday night, October 22, at Clymer Field.
After a scoreless first 18 minutes CG gradually pulled away after scoring two quick touchdowns, and won going away.
Bluffton fell to 5-5 overall and finished 2-5 in league play after the defeat.
CG improved to 10-0 overall and won the NWC at 7-0 with the convincing victory.
Bulldog A.J. Schafer broke up the scoreless defensive battle with a one-yard touchdown run with 5:31 left in the first half.
After a Pirate turnover, CG struck again a mere 89 seconds later. Colin Metzger scampered 49 yards to paydirt at the 4:01 mark. Rece Verhoff's second point after kick made it 14-0 at halftime.
Grove scored on the first possession of half two as Jackson Schroeder sped 45 yards to score at the 10:13 juncture. Verhoff's third PAT gave the hosts more breathing room at 21-0.
Schroeder found the end zone again on a 10-yard pass to Lawson Maag with 5:40 still left in the third stanza. Verhoff's extra point advanced the margin to 28-0.
With 7:48 remaining in the game, the strong-legged Verhoff booted a 38-yard field goal to provide the final margin of victory.
New league member Leipisc finished second in the NWC at 6-1, while Allen East was third (5-2) and Spencerville came in fourth (4-3).
Crestview finished 3-4, just ahead of the sixth-place Pirates. Delphos Jefferson ended up 1-6, and Ada was last at 0-7.
1 2 3 4 F
CG 0 14 14 3 31
Bluf 0 0 0 0 0
Notes and stats
CG out-gained Bluffton 394-114 yards in total offense. The Bulldogs averaged 7.6 yards per play on 52 plays. The Pirates averaged just 2.3 yards on 49 snaps.
Grove ran the ball 39 times for 270 yards (6.9 average). The Pirates netted 88 yards rushing on 27 attempts for an average gain of 2.4 yards per carry.
Bluffton amassed eight first downs (all rushing), compared to 18 by the victors.
Pirate QB Nate Schaadt rushed for 51 yards on 17 carries. He also completed five of 12 passes for 26 yards and two interceptions.
Landon Shutler netted 29 yards on 12 carries.
Gavin Bogart pulled in two receptions for 14 yards. Braeden Jordan added two short catches.
Bulldog back Colin Metzger rushed 24 times for 160 yards and one score to pace the Grove ground game. Schroeder added 97 yards on nine tries with one TD.
Schroeder also completed eight of 13 passes for 124 yards and one TD in replace of normal starter Trenton Renner.
Braylon Baxter caught two passes for 56 yards, and Maag snagged one aerial for the 10-yard TD.
Both teams committed three turnovers as Bluffton lost a fumble and threw two picks. Grove fumbled the pigskin away three times.
CG lost 30 yards on three penalties, and Bluffton was also flagged zero times.
Grove converted three of its nine third down tries, and went 1-1 on fourth down. Bluffton succeeded on three of 13 third down attempts, and succeeded on both of its fourth down tries.
Jordan led the Pirate defense with seven stops, while Jackon Wilson added 6.5 stops.
The Pirates won the time of possession battle, 26:30 to 21:30 minutes.
Post-season expectations
Bluffton is rated 12th in the unofficial final Div. VI, Region 22 rsnkings. If that ranking holds they would visit fifth seed Liberty Center (8-2) in the first round of playoffs next weekend.
This year, the top 16 teams from each region qualify for the expanded post-season.
The Pirates are 3-2 at home and 2-3 on the road.
