CORRECTED VERSION

By Cort Reynolds

The Bluffton High School football team won a wild shootout over visiting Spencerville 54-35 in the Northwest Conference lidlifter Friday, Sept. 9, at Harmon Field.

The decisive win lifted the Bluffton record to 2-2 (1-0 NWC), while Spencerville dropped to 1-3 (0-1 NWC) with the defeat.

Bluffton tallied a whopping 33 points in the second quarter en route to a 40-point first half that put the Bearcats down by 26. The Pirates marched 65 yards to score on their first possession behind junior quarterback Garret Bogart.

On their next drive, Pirate wideout Braeden Jordan made a nice run after the catch on a pass down to the Bearcat five. Gavin Bogart ran three yards to the two. On third and goal, Landen Worcester was stopped just short of the goal line as the first period expired.

But Worcester ran outside around end for a one-yard TD to convert on fourth and short to open the second stanza. Kyle Basil's second extra point boot extended the lead to 14-0 with 11:55 left in the half.

Spencerville returned the ensuing kickoff to their 40. On fourth and two, Josh Henline completed a 52-yard touchdown pass to Grant Duty with 10:11 left in the half, cutting the lead in half after the extra point kick.

Gavin Bogart then outraced the Bearcat defense on a long TD run at the 9:29 mark to restore the lead to 14 points at 21-7.

The Bearcats drove into Pirate territory before a big sack on third down brought up fourth and 12. But Henline converted another fourth down TD reception to Dylan Short to slice the Pirate lead to 21-14 with 4:12 to go before intermission.

Sophomore speedster Griffin Stackhouse returned the following kickoff to midfield. Worcester made two defenders miss near the line of scrimmage after a short catch and scampered all the way to the Bearcat 15.

Stackhouse caught a 13-yard pass, and on first and goal Bogart scored from two yards out. The point after kick made it 28-14 at the 3:17 mark. Bearcat turnovers then led to Bluffton extending its lead before the half. Quinn Eachus then intercepted a sideline aerial by Henline, and the Pirates took over at the Bearcat 40 with 3:10 still left before intermission.

On third and seven, wideout Stackhouse moved the chains with a nice catch and move afterward for 14 yards. On third and nine, Bogart rumbled up the middle untouched on a QB draw for a 22-yard TD run.The extra point hit the crossbar to keep the score 34-14 with 42 seconds to go in the second period.

The Bearcats then fumbled and Bluffton recovered at the Spencerville 20. Bogart immediately connected with Jordan over the middle on a 20-yard TD 28 seconds before intermission. The extra point missed to keep the count 40-14 at the break.

The Bearcats put together an 80-yard scoring drive on its first possession of half two. Henline beat the Pirate blitz and hit Nate Coulter with a TD pass to cut the lead to 40-21 with 6:22 left in the third period.

Bluffton answered right back when Gavin Bogart weaved his way 80 yards to paydirt just 19 seconds later. The PAT kick restored the margin to 47-21.

On the next Bearcat march, Henline capped the drive on a TD pass to Carter Layman with 2:54 still to go in the third period. The PAT kick cut the lead to 47-28.

Bluffton drove methodically downfield over seven minutes to score on a Garret Bogart QB keeper with 7:54 remaining. The PAT ballooned the margin to 26 points.

Gavin Bogart's interception gave the Pirates the ball on the Bearcat 30. But a fourth down pass fell incomplete to turn it over on downs. Spencerville scored on its last drive of 75 yards. Layman scored on a Henline option pitchout run with 2:01 left to provide the final score.

          1       2        3       4       F
Blu     7       33      7       7       54
Svl     0       14      14      7       35

Bluffton (1-1 home) hosts local rival Ada (1-3, 0-1 NWC) in their second Northwest Conference contest Friday, September 16. The Bulldogs lost at Leipsic 47-14 in their NWC lidlifter Friday, their first road game.

Ada (0-1 road) beat Hardin Northern 57-40 in week three for their lone win. The Bulldogs lost their first two games at home to unbeatens Waynesfield (4-0) and fifth-ranked Arlington (4-0).

Bluffton has taken the last four meetings between the rivals.

The Pirates won last year at Ada, 34-14. They also took a wild 48-46 shootout at War Memorial in 2020, and captured a 70-50 point-fest in 2019.

In 2018, Bluffton won 43-14. Ada last beat the Pirates in 2017 by a 42-17 count.