By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON__Visiting Collins Western Reserve scored 14 points in the final seven minutes to rally and upset the Bluffton High School football team 36-31 in the first round of the Div. VI, Region 22 playoffs on a slippery Harmon Field on Friday, October 31.

The Pirates led 31-22 before the Roughriders scored on a long touchdown pass, followed by a critical turnover and another CWR six-pointer with 2:16 remaining.

The seventh-seeded Pirates end their season 8-3 after the difficult defeat.

Tenth-seeded Western Reserve improved to 9-2 with the comeback victory, and advanced to the region 22 quarterfinals at Hopewell-Loudon (9-1) next Friday.

Turnovers played a key role late in the first half with Bluffton seizing the lead, but late Pirate miscues turned the tables and opened the door for a Roughrider rally.

Bluffton took the opening kickoff and drove deep into Western Reserve territory. Parker Lovell converted a fourth and short run deep in Pirate land to get the initial first down.

Robby Taylor then burst 20 yards up the middle past midfield. Bluffton junior signal-caller Tayte Giesige ripped off a 24-yard run to the Western 21.

The Pirates penetrated the Western 10, but coughed up the ball on a costly fumble that the Roughriders recovered at their own six-yard line. The good opening drive resulted in no points.

WR then embarked on a long drive of their own that consumed the rest of the first period.

The visitors crossed the 50 before Pirate junior Kizer Young recorded a big sack. Western Reserve recovered and continued its march to the Pirate eight after a big third down conversion.

Western senior quarterback Hayden Keith ran for three yards to the five. On third and goal inside the four, Keith slipped when surrounded by Pirates for a loss back to the six. 

On fourth and goal from the six, Keith rolled right and hit Connor Rowe in the end zone for a six-yard TD pass. The Riders went for the two-point conversion, and Keith scored untouched on a run to make it 8-0 with 9:28 left in the first half.

The long drive covered 94 yards and six minutes on 12 plays.

The Pirates returned the ensuing kickoff to their own 33. A Lovell run reached the 44. Blayne Hill caught a screen pass and weaved his way to the WR 49.

Lovell moved the chains with a 10-yard run. Lovell followed the blocking of end Dylan Cherry for another 10-yard chunk rush. A Pirate holding penalty was followed by another 10-yard gain.

On third and seven, Giesige hit Hill in the flat and muscled his way for a first down at the 17. On third and four, Giesige escaped a rush and broke two arm tackles, then ran eight yards to the three.

On first and goal, Lovell was stopped inside the one with 1:55 left in the half. Lovell then punched it into the end zone on a short run up the middle to cut the deficit to two.

Ethan Blount’s extra point kick inched the Pirates within 8-7 at the 1:52 mark.

WR started just its second possession of the game with under two minutes left in the second quarter at their own 36. Keith completed a 19-yard aerial to the Pirate 45 on first down.

Taylor then intercepted a Keith screen to the right and sped 53 yards untouched to paydirt to give Bluffton the lead. Blount’s second PAT kick made it 14-8 with 1:19 left in the second stanza.

Taylor read the pass perfectly and converted a pick six return to give the Pirates the lead and the momentum.

The Riders took over on the next possession, and a short pass resulted in a big gain to the Pirate 41. A six-yard pass reached the Bluffton 35. 

But another big interception by Zayden Morales on a pass over the middle was returned to the Bluffton 48 with 25.5 seconds left.

A hook and lateral pass to Kain Wright reached the Western 40 with 14 seconds left, but he appeared to aggravate an injured ankle when tackled. The speedy senior was unable to play in the second half.

A pass to Lleyton Miller gained 12 yards to the 28 with 8.4 ticks left in the half.

Giesige scrambled and connected with Miller in the end zone for an apparent touchdown pass, but it was negated by a holding penalty with one second to go.

Lovell ran for about nine yards, but the half did not end due to a penalty against the Riders. The Pirates capitalized when Blount drilled a 33-yard field goal on an untimed down to make it 17 unanswered points as the half ended.

Western Reserve took the second half kickoff and Keith completed a third down pass to keep the drive alive early. A Keith keeper run reached the 46 to move the chains.

Another screen pass was almost picked off to force third down. Keith completed a running 40-yard down to the Pirate eight to earn first and goal.

An eight-yard Rider TD run cut the Pirate lead to 17-14 with just over seven minutes left in the third period. Jackson Bowlus stuffed the two-point run by Keith to keep the margin at three.  

Hill returned the ensuing kickoff to the Pirate 37. Lovell broke a few tackles on a bruising 11-yard run to start the drive. Taylor caught a third down pass from Giesige for a nice gain to the WR 40.

Miller then hauled in a 36-yard TD reception from Giesige to cap the 63-yard drive. Blount’s PAT kick at the 5:02 mark restored the lead to 24-14.

On third and five, Keith’s pass under pressure fell incomplete. The WR coach drew a sideline warning for arguing a non-interference call, necessitating a punt. 

Tyler Cooper’s punt was touched by a Pirate when he was apparently blocked into the ball’s path, and the Riders recovered the loose pigskin inside the Bluffton 40. 

Keith scampered 11 yards to the Pirate 28. Landyn Wiegel ran for a big gain before Giesige leveled him inside the 10. Keith then strode untouched to the end zone for a seven-yard TD run.

The successful Keith two-point run sliced the WR deficit to 24-22 with 2:28 left in the third quarter.

The Pirates put together a methodical drive on the ground in response. On third and five, Bluffton ran out the third period clock with a two-point edge.

On the first play of the fourth stanza, the Pirates gained four yards. On fourth and one, Lovell powered ahead to the Rider 31 to move the chains. A third and six hook and lateral pass to Taylor resulted in a facemask penalty down to the Rider six.

On second and goal, Giesige hit Lovell on a four-yard scoring strike with 9:52 remaining. The Blount extra point put the Pirates ahead 31-22.

Bowlus made a good tackle on the kickoff to bring down Lucas Summerfield at the WR 22. A quick Keith pass gained five yards. A five-yard run resulted in a first down. 

A Keith screen pass to Wiegel netted a dozen yards. Morales then stuffed the ball carrier for no gain. A long pass was broken up on a Miller deflection.

On third and 10, Young and Morales stopped Keith short after a seven-yard run. After a Western timeout, on a key fourth and three at the 48, Keith kept the ball and got a first down at the Pirate 45.

A pass to Haden Tobias gained 11 yards. A long pass by Keith to a wide-open Dom Edwards in the end zone capped a 79-yard scoring march with 6:39 left to play.

The two-point conversion run by Keith was stopped by Giesige and Bowlus, keeping the Pirates ahead by three, 31-28.

Hill broke a few tackles and returned the rolling kickoff to the Pirate 45.

Bluffton fumbled the ball away three plays later as Tobias recovered the loose pigskin at the Rider 48.

After a delay of game penalty, Keith ran seven yards to midfield. Wiegel then scurried 19 yards to the Pirate 31 with 5:05 left. Keith was tripped up by Giesige after a five-yard run.

On third and two from the 23, Keith kept it again and ran for a first down inside the 20. A pass to Connor Rowe advanced the Riders to the six with under three minutes remaining.

Keith was pulled down after a one-yard gain by Braxton Smallwood, and Bluffton called a timeout at the 2:21 mark. WR scored on a five-yard run to go ahead, 34-31.

Keith then stretched the two-point run just over the goal line to extend the Rider lead to 36-31 with 2:16 left to play.

Keith’s sidewinding kickoff was returned by Miller to the Pirate 37 at the 2:08 juncture. Bluffton needed a touchdown drive of 63 yards to pull off the win, as a field goal would do no good with so little time left.

On the first play, Hill was hit in the backfield by the ever-present linebacker Keith for a big loss of five yards, followed by a Pirate timeout. A Giesige pass to an open receiver was dropped.

A costly false start penalty moved Bluffton back five more yards. On third and 20, Giesige was sacked by Blake Welsh for a crucial 11-yard loss to the 16.

With Pirate backs firmly against the wall, an off sides flag gained five yards to make it fourth and 26. Giesige was then hit as he threw, and the ball fell to the turf incomplete. 

WR took over at the Pirate 21 with over a minute left and took three kneel-downs to end the game and the Bluffton season.

1 2 3 4 F

Bluf 0 17 7 7 31

WR 0 8 14 14 36

 

Unofficial stats and notes

The Roughriders extended their win streak to five games with the comeback victory. WR has averaged 41.9 ppg in their nine wins. One of their two losses was to top region 22 seed Castalia Margaretta (9-1) by a 21-0 score back in week two.

Giesige threw two touchdown passes with no interceptions, and ran for over 50 yards.

Lovell rushed for just over 100 yards and one TD, netting 71 yards in the first half. He also caught a short scoring aerial.

Taylor rushed for 45 yards and authored a big touchdown interception return.

Hill snared several receptions. Miller caught three aerials for 50 yards and one long TD.   

Roughriders QB Keith threw for over 200 yards and two touchdowns, but also tossed a pair of interceptions. He also rushed for 95 yards and three scores.

Morales added an interception.

The Pirates committed three critical turnovers on a muffed punt and the two fumbles, which helped pave the way for two Rider second-half touchdowns. 

WR was guilty of two miscues on a pair of interceptions late in the second period, including a pick six, that led to 10 Pirate points.

Bluffton finished 5-1 at home with the defeat, and they went 3-2 on the road. 

It was the last Pirate game for nine Bluffton seniors.

The Roughriders next play at second seed Bascom Hopewell-Loudon (9-1) in the region 22 quarterfinals on Friday, November 7 at 7 p.m. H-L earned a first round bye as a top-four seed. 

The only loss by the Chieftains came to number one region 22 seed Margaretta 29-26 in week seven. H-L averages 33.3 ppg and allows just 8.2 ppg.

The Chieftains won their first six games by a combined score of 179-35, including two shutout victories. Their opponents have a combined record of 52-48.

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