By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON__The potent Bluffton High School football team dominated Delphos Jefferson 49-6 to successfully open their quest for a Northwest Conference championship on Friday, September 12 at Harmon Field.

The Pirates improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in NWC play with the victory. Struggling Delphos Jeff fell to 1-3 and 0-1 in the NWC after the loss.

Bluffton junior quarterback Tayte Giesige tossed three touchdown passes, and Jackson Bowlus rushed for three scores to pace the victorious offense.

Delphos drew first blood early in the game, but the Pirates then reeled off 49 unanswered points to blow the game wide open. Explosive Bluffton tallied 14 points in each of the first three quarters.

Speedy Delphos senior wideout Lucas Millmine hauled in a 60-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline from sophomore Colt Cross less than a minute into the game to give the Wildcats a surprising 6-0 lead. 

The extra point was blocked to keep the margin at six with 11:13 left in the first period.

Bluffton responded quickly with a touchdown drive and took a 7-6 lead after the extra point. Giesige hit speedy Lleyton Miller on a slant and he made some good cuts and sped 33 yards to the end zone

Millmine authored a good kickoff return, but the DJ drive was quickly thwarted. However, Bluffton fumbled a few plays later when Millmine put his helmet on the ball, and the Wildcats recovered.

Yet on second down Jacob Dawson intercepted a pass and returned it all the way to the Wildcat 23. 

On the next play Giesige scrambled around with good protection and eventually connected with Ethan Sprunger in the left corner of the end zone for a 23-yard TD reception. 

Ethan Blount’s extra point kick extended the lead to 14-6 with 4:11 left in the first period.

Early in the second quarter, Giesige got loose for a 55-yard run to the Wildcat 10. Jackson Bowlus made a nice cutback run and found paydirt on a nine-yard run around end.

With 11:16 left in the first half, the PAT kick stretched the margin to 21-6.

Pirate back Bowlus sacked Cross on fourth down at the Wildcat 42 to force a turnover on downs.

A 26-yard gain to the Wildcat 14 was followed by a 12-yard scamper by Blayne Hill. On second and goal, Bowlus burrowed into paydirt on a two-yard run off tackle to cap the 42-yard, four-play drive with 6:30 left in the second stanza.

Blount’s fourth extra point boot extended the margin to 28-6.

After a stop and a very short Wildcat punt from their own 28, the Pirates took over at the DJ 41. But they couldn’t capitalize, and a fourth down pass into the end zone fell incomplete for a turnover on downs.

Delphos put together a short drive, but Miller picked off a Cross pass as time elapsed on the last play of the half.

Bluffton forced a turnover on downs and took over with 7:24 left in period three. Giesige and Hill connected on a 43-yard reception to the Wildcat 11. Bowlus then found a seam and scurried 11 yards to paydirt.

The PAT kick made it 35-6 with 5:53 left in the third period.

Giesige then found Hill for a 20-yard scoring aerial to enact the running clock. Blount’s sixth PAT kick made it 42-6 with 3:11 left in the third period.

Hill then returned a Wildcat punt 55 yards to the end zone to extend the lead to 49-6. Pirate Robby Taylor intercepted a Wildcat aerial and returned it to the DJ 42.

The Bluffton reserve offense penetrated the Wildcat 10-yard line before running the final clock out.

Stats and notes
Bluffton racked up 381 yards on 45 plays, including 165 aerially and 216 on the ground.

The Pirates averaged 8.5 yards per play. 

The Wildcats were held to just 122 yards on 48 plays, an average of only 2.5 yards per snap.

Bluffton compiled 15 first downs compared to a mere six chain-movers by DJ.

Giesige tossed three touchdown passes and completed nine of 14 pass attempts for 165 yards. He ran for 64 yards on four carries to account for 229 total yards. Giesige also led the defense with five solo tackles.

Bowlus rushed for 67 yards on nine carries and scored three TDs. On defense, Bowlus came up with three sacks. Sprunger contributed a 27-yard run.

Hill caught four passes for 81 yards and one TD. Miller grabbed two passes for 44 yards and one score. Sprunger added a 23-yard TD reception.

DJ committed four turnovers via interception, while the Pirates lost one fumble. Miller picked off two passes, while Taylor had one pick and Dawson added another interception.

Bluffton committed five penalties for 43 yards, and Delphos was flagged three times for 41 yards. Bluffton was 5-7 on third down conversions, while DJ was 2-1 on third and 0-5 on fourth.

Pirates face NWC foe Bearcats in week 5
Bluffton travels to Spencerville (1-3, 0-2 NWC) for a week five Northwest Conference contest on Friday, September 19.

The Bearcats lost 48-0 at 1-3 Columbus Grove Friday night. Their lone win came 25-21 over Wayne Trace in week two.

The Pirates are ranked first in the Div. VI, Region 22 computer ratings. Spencerville is 21st in the 26-team region.