Columbus Grove defeats Carey 37-21

By Cort Reynolds

NAPOLEON__The Bluffton High School football team dominated Ottawa Hills 34-0 in Div. VI, Region 22 semifinal action on a cool but dry Friday night at Charles Buckenmeyer Stadium in Napoleon to set up a big rematch.

Junior running back Landen Worcester rushed for 178 yards and four touchdowns to pace the punishing Pirate ground game. The rugged Bluffton defense also registered its ninth shutout of the season.

The #2 seed Pirates improved to 12-1 with the shutout win, while OH ended its season 11-2 after the defeat.

Top regional seed Columbus Grove pulled away late to defeat Carey 37-21 in their region 22 semifinal bout at Fostoria to set up a rematch with the league rival Pirates next Friday. 

CG (11-2) handed Bluffton its lone loss in their regular season finale showdown at Grove 14-7 to win the Northwest Conference title.

Sixth-seeded Ottawa Hills struggled to muster any offense against the stingy Bluffton defense.

“The defense played solid all game against an offense that had been averaging over 40 points per game,” said Bluffton head coach Jeff Richards. “Offensively, we did a good job of moving the ball thanks to our big guys up front,” he continued. “Landen ran very hard, and we were able to put things away in the second half.”

OH fumbled on third and eight during the first Green Bear drive, but they recovered the loose pigskin for a loss of 11. 

The Pirates took over and a Griffin Stackhouse jet sweep penetrated into OH territory.

Worcester then broke through the line and rambled for a 40-yard touchdown run to break the ice.

Kyle Basil’s point after kick made it 7-0 with six minutes left in the first period.

OH took over at its own 20 to start their second possession. On third and 11, a long fade route pass fell incomplete. After a punt, Bluffton earned excellent field position just shy of midfield. 

On third and one, Worcester moved the chains with an 11-yard run. Worcester then broke a few tackles and rumbled 19 yards to paydirt for his second TD run.

Basil’s point after boot extended the lead to 14-0 with 1:36 left in the first  stanza.

Both offenses stalled for much of the rest of the first half as each team’s defense stiffened. After scoring their first two possessions, Bluffton had to punt its last two times.

On third and 10 from the OH 48, Worcester was stopped for a loss of four yards to force a Gabe Meza punt. The Bears returned the boot to their own 36 with 68 seconds left in the first half.

The Pirates nearly intercepted a pass for a pick six but couldn’t hang on. Another aerial over the middle by OH QB Chase Miller was nearly intercepted by Quinn Eachus. 

After a Bear punt, for the second straight week Bluffton took a 14-0 lead to intermission.

The Pirates limited OH to just 24 first half yards while Bluffton netted 105 of its 127 yards in the first period. All of the Pirate yards came on the ground. The stingy Bluffton defense held the Bears to just 12 yards on 14 rushes.

Worcester carried the ball 16 times for 104 yards and two scores in the first half.

A Green Bear on-sides kickoff to start the second half skipped out of bounds to give Bluffton possession at their own 43. Garret Bogart faked a handoff to Worcester and swept around right end for a big gain of 23 yards on the first play of the half.

Worcester carried defenders nine yards to the OH 25. Worcester bounced off some would-be tacklers and carried more Bears to the four on a 21-yard rumble.

On first and goal, Worcester narrowly crossed the goal line on a four-yard TD run to cap a 57-yard drive that took 2:01 on four runs.

The Basil PAT kick stretched the Pirate lead to 21-0 with 9:59 remaining in the third period.

OH responded with their best drive of the night, but it was thwarted by their own penalties. A Miller pass to Jack Perozek gained 20 yards into Pirate territory at the 33.

Another Miller aerial was negated by an illegal man downfield penalty. A short pass was nullified by a late hit penalty on the sidelines to bring up second and 30. A screen pass fell incomplete.

On third and 30 from their own 47, Miller rolled left and underthrew his receiver to force another punt that rolled dead at the Bluffton 18.

On second and eight, Braeden Jordan caught a Bogart pass in the flat and broke a tackle. He then raced down the sideline to the Bear 35 for a 45-yard gain.

On third and short, the QB Garret Bogart fooled the defense again with a fake handoff up the middle to Worcester. He kept the ball, ran left and scampered untouched to the end zone from 27 yards out.

The Basil extra point stretched the lead to 28-0 with 2:06 remaining in the third period.

On the ensuing OH possession, a Carsen Weaver sack brought up third and long from the Bear 14. An unsportsmanlike penalty flag was assessed to Bear head coach Chris Hardman for running onto the field as the third quarter ended.

OH had to punt again and the Pirates took over again with good field position at their own 41. Gavin Bogart fashioned a long run to the Green Bear 29.

After a Pirate penalty, Worcester carried Bear defenders 14 yards to the 25. On third and six Stackhouse moved the chains, with a late hit flag tacked on to inside the five.

On third and goal, Bluffton went ahead 34-0 with 4:40 remaining on a one-yard scoring plunge by Worcester. The PAT try was blocked by the Bears.

The time-consuming scoring march of all runs covered 59 yards over seven minutes.

A 35-yard Miller aerial to Cooper Eidenier ignited the next OH possession for the biggest Bear gainer of the night.

But then sophomore defensive back Javen Crawfis intercepted a long Miller pass at the four-yard line to stymie the best Ottawa Hills scoring chance. QB Bogart then took a knee to run out the clock.

The Pirates now get a chance to avenge their only defeat vs. Grove in the region 22 finals at a site TBA for a chance to advance to the state semifinals.

“Playing Grove in the regional final is a great opportunity, and great for the Northwest Conference as a whole,” said Richards. “We played a tough game in week 10, and have both played well in the playoffs.

“We will need to put in a great week of practice and avoid distractions,” he added.

Bluffton will have to try and contain elusive Grove running back Trenton Barraza, who can make something out of nothing with his shifty moves and acceleration. Barraza gashed the Pirates for 200 yards rushing in the week 10 matchup.

“He was NWC Offensive Player of the Year for a reason, he’s a very talented player,” said Richards of Barraza. 

“He’s not their only talented player though, they are a very good team,” he noted. “It will take a complete team effort.”

1 2 3 4 F

Blf 14 0 14 6 34

OH 0 0 0 0 0

Notes and unofficial stats

The Pirates have outscored their three playoff foes by a combined score of 135-6 during this postseason.

In those three playoff games, the Pirate defense has authored 11 shutout quarters. Only a last-gasp TD pass at the end of their 63-6 round one win over Paulding denied Bluffton having 10 shutouts in 13 games.

OH mustered just 121 yards in total offense, 35 of which came on the late pass to Eidenier.

Bluffton racked up 345 yards in total offense, almost all on the ground. Unofficially, Worcester rushed for 178 yards and four TDs on 24 carries.

Garret Bogart netted 51 yards rushing on just two runs. Stackhouse added 35 yards on five carries, while Gavin Bogart gained 21 yards on four rushes.

Noah Bricker added 15 yards rushing, and was credited with 1.5 sacks. 

Jordan gained 45 yards on one reception.