Galion Tigers 21, Harding Presidents 44
MARION — On Friday night, the Galion Tigers headed to Marion to face-off against the Harding Presidents in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference gridiron action.
When the clock read all zeroes, it was the home team coming away with victory as Harding upended Galion by a final score of 44-21. With the loss, the Tigers drop to 4-2 on the season and sit at 1-2 in conference play. The Presidents improve to 4-2 overall and are now 2-1 in the MOAC.
Statistically, Harding would outpass and outrush the visiting Tigers en route to the win.
On the ground, the Presidents ran the ball for 226 yards to the Tigers 117. Through the air, Harding posted 147 yards to Galion’s 87. In total, the home team ran 51 plays for 373 yards and Galion got off 46 plays for just 204 total yards.
After the first, the score was close at 7-0 in favor of the Presidents after a quarterback keeper from 13-yards away and an extra-point.
Galion would get on the board in the second on a 56-yard touchdown strike from Harrison Ivy to receiver Takoda Crisman. Dominic Pittman tacked on the PAT to tie the contest at seven points apiece. However, Harding would strike for 28 unanswered points to take a 35-7 lead into the half.
In the third, the Presidents would pad their lead via a field goal and another touchdown to put the score seemingly out of reach headed into the fourth; 44-7.
The Tigers would not give up though and would score their first touchdown of the final frame on a six-yard scurry into the endzone by Ivy. With the Pittman extra-point, Galion found themselves trailing 44-14. Reserve quarterback Elias Middleton would add the final touchdown of the contest for the visiting Tigers, a five-yard run with Pittman adding his final PAT to make the score, and eventually the final; 44-21.
Offensive stats for Galion: Ivy- 4/16 passing, 87 yards, TD, 11 rushes, 54 yards, TD; Tanner Crisman- 10 rushes, 38 yards; Nakoma Breedlove- 4 rushes, 17 yards; Middleton- 2 rushes, 10 yards, TD; Takoda Crisman- 1 rush, 3 yards, 4 catches, 87 yards, TD; Trevor O’Brien- 1 rush, 2 yards and Pittman- 3/3 PAT.
Galion will host the Clear Fork Colts at Unckrich Stadium on Friday, October 6 for the annual homecoming game. Clear Fork beat River Valley (52-8) to remain undefeated at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the MOAC on September 29.
Northmor Golden Knights 32, Cardington Pirates 7
CARDINGTON — After suffering their first loss of the 2017 last week at Danville, the Northmor Golden Knights football team traveled to Cardington to meet up with the hosting Pirates in Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference action.
Northmor would continue their run-heavy offensive ways and win easily over the Pirates; 32-7. With that victory, the Knights improve to 5-1 overall on the year and are now 2-1 within the KMAC.
Meechie Johnson was again the primary offensive weapon for the visitors. Meechie carried the ball 25 times against the Cardington defense en route to 240 yards and four touchdowns. Through the air, Johnson completed just 2/5 passes for -1 yards.
Also active in the Knights’ running game was Conan Becker, picking up 53 yards on seven carries, good for the other Northmor touchdown. Wyatt Reeder gained 11 yards on four carries and also caught the two Johnson completion attempts for the negative yardage. Ryland Thomas gained six yards on six carries to round out the running attack.
Kyle Kegley was 2/2 on his extra-point attempts on the evening.
In total, Northmor gained 308 yards on the night (309 rushing, -1 passing) to the Pirates’ 185 (134 rushing, 51 passing).
The Golden Knights will celebrate their homecoming weekend next week, starting with their game on Friday, October 6 when they welcome KMAC foe, the East Knox Bulldogs, to town.
Crestline Bulldogs 13, Miller Falcons 47
CORNING — On Saturday, September 30, the Crestline Bulldogs football squad traveled to Corning to meet up with the hosting Miller Falcons.
After the long road trip, the ‘Dogs found themselves at 3-3 overall on the season, dropping the contest; 47-13.
Crestline managed just 141 yards of total offense for the contest; 88 yards on the ground and 53 yards through the air.
Ty Clark completed 8/16 passes for those 53 yards on the day while throwing one interception. Davon Triplett was Clark’s primary target, catching three passes for 36 yards. Caleb Moore caught one pass for 28 yards, Jaden Stewart had one catch for 13 yards. Rounding out the air strike was Bailey Woolard with two catches for eight yards and Ethan Clum, one catch for five yards.
On the ground, Moore ran the ball twice to gain 50 yards. Dakota Wireman had the only offensive touchdown for the visiting Bulldogs and picked up 21 yards on seven carries. Clum would also contribute in the running game, carrying the ball twice for 17 yards.
The other score for the Bulldogs came on a Triplett 80-yard kickoff return for the touchdown. Dillon Foltz successfully converted his only extra-point attempt for the game.
Crestline will finish out their 2017 season at home. The first of those four games will be on Friday, October 6 against the Lucas Cubs for Veteran’s Night. All Veterans will receive free admission to the football game as well as a free hot dog and water courtesy of the Crestline Athletic Booster Club. Game time is 7:00-pm. Veterans will also be recognized on the track in front of the home stands at the conclusion of the first quarter.
