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BHS Band Director Dave Sycks celebrated at his last regular home football gaame

By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON__The Bluffton High School football team stomped visiting Fort Loramie 42-9 in a Northwest Conference mismatch on Senior Night Friday, October 10, at Harmon Field.

The evening was also the last regular season home game for BHS marching band director of 30 years, Dave Sycks.

The one-sided home victory lifted the Pirates to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in NWC play.

FL fell to 1-7 overall and 1-4 in the NWC after the defeat.

Bluffton running back Parker Lovell rushed for three touchdowns to pace the offensive attack.

Pirate quarterback Tayte Giesige threw for a long touchdown pass and caught a scoring pass.

Lovell started the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run. Ethan Blount’s extra point made it 7-0.

Lleyton Miller then hauled in a 96-yard TD reception from Giesige to double the lead to 14-0 after the first period of play.

FL recorded a safety to cut the deficit to 14-2.

The roles were reversed when Miller threw a 38-yard scoring strike to QB Giesige to extend the lead to 21-2. 

Pirate Javen Crawfis then returned an interception 35 yards to paydirt to stretch the margin to 28-2 at halftime after Blount’s fourth PAT kick.

Lovell scampered 25 yards to paydirt in the third quarter to make it 35-2.

Lovell then rambled 45 yards to the end zone for another TD in the fourth period to balloon the lead to 42-2.

The Redskins scored their lone TD on a three-yard run late in the contest to cut the final margin to 33 points.

SCOREBOARD

1 2 3 4 F

Bluf 14 14 7 7 42

FtL 0 2 0 7 9

Stats and notes

Bluffton netted 400 total yards on 45 plays for a fine average of 8.9 yards per play. The well-balanced Pirates threw for 207 yards and ran for 193 more yards.  

The Redskins compiled just 172 net yards on 46 plays for 3.7 yards per snap. The visitors ran for 98 yards and netted 74 yards aerially.

The Pirates compiled 13 first downs compared to 10 chain-movers by the Redskins.

Giesige completed an efficient seven of 11 passes for 169 yards and one  TD with a long completion of 96. He also rushed seven times for 49 yards. Giesige caught one pass for a 38-yard score. He amassed 256 yards in total offense.

Lovell rushed for 140 yards and three TDs on 15 carries.

Miller caught three passes for 115 yards and one TD. He also threw a scoring pass in his only attempt. Kain Wright snared four passes for 54 yards.

FL completed six of 16 passes for 74 yards. They netted 98 yards on 26 rushes.

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. 

Crawfis had three solo tackles and one interception. Giesige added a pick-off, one tackle for loss and three assisted tackles.

Bluffton converted four of six third-down tries while FL was successful on three of eight tries. The Pirates were 0-0 on fourth down, and the Redskins went 0-1 on fourth.

The Redskins committed the game’s only turnovers by throwing two picks.

FL was penalized four times for 13 yards. Bluffton committed 10 penalties for 62 yards.

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

Pirates at AE in week 9

Bluffton visits local rival Allen East (2-5, 1-3 NWC) in week nine on Friday, October 17. 

AE played at Delphos Jefferson (1-6, 0-4 NWC) Saturday night.

Defending league champion Grove (5-3) is tied atop the NWC at 5-0 with unbeaten Lima Central Catholic after the Bulldogs thrashed Crestview 38-0 in week eight. The Thunderbirds crushed Spencerville 41-7 on Friday.

CG plays at 8-0 LCC next Friday in a first-place showdown, then hosts the Pirates in week 10. The T-Birds are first in the Div. VII, Region 26 rankings. Grove is 16th in region 26 because they have only one win over a team above .500, and they also lost their first three games in non-league action.

Bluffton has outscored its opposition 338-152 through eight games (42.3 ppg to 19.0 ppg).  

Despite the big win over the struggling Redskins, Bluffton dropped two spots to sixth place in the Division VI, Region 22 computer rankings. 

Archbold (7-1) is first, with Margaretta Castalia second (7-1) and Hopewell-Loudon (7-1) third. Sherwood Fairview (7-1) ranks fourth. Paulding, the only remaining undefeated team in Region 22 at 8-0, is rated fifth.

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