NWC showdown at Grove in week 10

By Cort Reynolds

HARROD__The visiting Bluffton High School football team romped after a close early battle over local rival Allen East 45-13 in their annual Northwest Conference grudge match on Friday, October 7 at Goodwin Field.

The Pirates reeled off the final 31 points of the contest to pull away from a 14-13 battle and win by 32. AE scored all 13 of its points in the second quarter to keep it close early. 

After the Mustangs inched within a point, the Pirates responded with a 17-0 outburst in a short span to blow the game open late in the second period. Bluffton tallied 24 points in the decisive stanza and never looked back.

The Pirates improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in NWC play with the win. Bluffton moved into a second-place tie with Lima Central Catholic after the Thunderbirds lost a first-place showdown to Columbus Grove Friday.

AE fell to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in league action after the loss.

Bluffton scored first on a 57-yard touchdown pass from junior signal-caller Tayte Giesige to Javen Crawfis. The score remained 7-0 after the first quarter of play.

Mustang back Miles McDorman found paydirt on a one-yard plunge to tie it 7-7 after the extra point kick by Travis Stanley.

But the Pirates went back in front for good on a one-yard TD pass from Giesige to Lleyton Miller. 

Speedy AE receiver Deacon Jones then hauled in a 63-yard TD pass from Ethan Hershberger to edge the Mustangs within 14-13. However, the PAT kick missed to keep the Pirates ahead by a single point.

Bluffton running back Parker Lovell then scored on a four-yard run to tally the first of his three touchdowns. The extra point made it 21-13, Pirates.

After Mustang turnover, Pirate quarterback Tayte Giesige threw a 24-yard touchdown strike to Kain Wright that extended the margin to 28-13.

Kicker Ethan Blount booted a 28-yard field goal to put the visitors ahead 31-13 at halftime.

Lovell hit paydirt on a 23-yard TD run in the third quarter to balloon the margin to 38-13.

Lovell tacked on a four-yard scoring jaunt later in the third period to make it 44-13. Blount’s sixth straight successful extra point kick provided the final point.

Neither team scored in the fourth period. On fourth and three from the AE six-yard line, the Pirates were stopped just short to turn it over on downs with six minutes left.

Time then ran out with the running clock.

1 2 3 4 F

Bluf 7 24 14 0 45

AE 0 13 0 0 13

Stats and notes

Bluffton netted 378 total yards on 58 plays for a solid average of 6.6 yards per play. The balanced Pirates threw for 174 yards and ran for 204 more yards.  

The Mustang compiled 219 net yards on 48 plays for 4.6 yards per snap. AE ran for 93 yards and netted 126 yards aerially.

The Pirates compiled 20 first downs compared to 11 chain-movers by the Mustangs.

Giesige completed 12 of 22 passes for 165 yards and three TDs with a long completion of 57 for a six-pointer. He also rushed eight times for 59 yards. Giesige amassed 224 yards in total offense.

Lovell rushed for 119 yards and three TDs on 20 carries.

Miller caught one pass for a short TD. He also completed one pass for nine yards.

Javen Crawfis snagged five passes for 90 yards and one sixer from 57 yards out. Wright snared two aerials for 50 yards and one score. 

Hershberger completed 11 of 18 passes for 126 yards and one TD. The Mustangs netted 93 yards on 28 rushes (3.3 yards per run).

Shank led the Pirate defense with one solo tackle and six assists. Jackson Bowlus and Kizer Young each made a sack. Robby Taylor added four assists and two solo stops. 

Zayden Morales had two sacks and six assists to go with three solo stops on defense. Mason Shank made two solo stops, five assists and had a sack. Jackson Bowlus contributed a sack.

Crawfis had three solo tackles and seven assists. Robby Taylor made five solo tackles and two assisted stops.

Bluffton converted five of 11 third-down tries while AE was successful on just two of 10 such tries. The Pirates were 0-1 on fourth down, and the Mustangs went 2-4 on fourth.

The Mustangs made three costly turnovers, all on fumbles.

AE was penalized three times for 15 yards. Bluffton committed two penalties for just five yards.

The Pirates improved to 5-0 at home with the lopsided win.

Pirates visit Grove in regular season finale showdown

Bluffton visits rival Columbus Grove (6-3, 6-0 NWC) in the critical league and regular season finale on Friday, October 24. 

Recent nemesis CG has won the outright league title the last two years with tie-breaking week 10 wins over the Pirates. Including a close playoff win in 2023, the Bulldogs have beaten Bluffton in their last three showdown meetings, including a shocking 42-0 shellacking last year in week 10.

On Friday night at Spartan Stadium, Grove built a 20-point lead but then had to stave off a rally with a late interception to upset previously unbeaten LCC, 33-25. 

The victory dropped the Thunderbirds into a second-place tie with the Pirates at 5-1 in the NWC. LCC beat Bluffton 31-21 at home on September 27.

Grove won their sixth straight game after an 0-3 start with the road upset at the Thunderbirds. The victory over the T-Birds clinched at least a share of the NWC crown for the Bulldogs. 

But a Pirate win at Grove and an LCC victory at 6-3 Crestview (4-2 NWC) in week 10 would create a three-way tie for the league crown at 6-1. The Knights edged Spencerville 33-27 in week nine.

The T-Birds (8-1, 5-1 NWC) stayed first in the Div. VII, Region 26 rankings despite the loss to Grove at home. 

Grove rose from 15th to seventh in region 26 after the win at LCC. 

Bluffton has outscored its opposition 383-166 through nine games (42.6 ppg to 18.4 ppg).  

Bluffton moved up one spot to fifth place in the Div. VI, Region 22 computer rankings after beating the Mustangs. 

The Pirates are 33-5 over the last three seasons, including 33-2 vs. opponents other than Grove. 

Archbold (8-1) is first, with Margaretta Castalia second (8-1) and Hopewell-Loudon (8-1) third. Paulding, the only remaining unbeaten in Region 22 at 9-0, is rated fourth. Sherwood Fairview (8-1) fell from fourth to sixth this weekend.

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