Galion 42, Upper Sandusky 0

GALION — On Friday night, the Upper Sandusky Rams traveled to Unckrich Stadium in Heise Park to clash in their final non-conference game of the season against the hosting Galion Tigers.

Entering the contest, Galion sat at 2-0 on the season with Upper at an even 1-1.

The first quarter of the contest would take nearly 45 minutes to complete thanks to the high octane Tigers’ offense.

Upper received the ball to start the game and would begin at their own 20-yard line following a delay of game penalty to start the action. The Rams were not out on the field when the ball was placed on the tee for kickoff, causing Dominic Pittman to kick from the Upper 45-yard line. Upper’s first possession would set the pace for the game as the Galion “D” recorded two sacks and forced their guests to punt the ball away. Galion would capitalize, taking very little time to find the scoreboard. Beginning their drive on their own 40, Trevor O’Brien carried the ball for six yards to the 46 before the second play led to an incompletion from Wilson Frankhouse to Isaiah Alsip. Frankhouse would keep the ball on the third play from scrimmage and bolt down the field to score on the 54-yard run. Pittman made it 7-0 early with his 12th straight extra-point conversion.

The Rams’ second possession only lasted three plays as Alsip intercepted a Mason Vent pass attempt to give Galion the ball back at the Upper 37-yard line. From there, the Tigers needed just two plays to find the endzone as Frankhouse punched the ball in from the one following a 36-yard completion to Alsip. Another Pittman PAT and it was 14-0 Galion with 7:58 still remaining in the opening quarter.

Another possession and another punt for Upper gave Galion the ball back for their third possession of the quarter. The Rams’ defense forced a fourth and seven, causing the home team to lineup in punt formation. However, head coach Matt Dick had other ideas as it turned out to be a fake with Alsip finding Gage Vanderkooi for a 21-yard completion. With a fresh set of downs, Galion eventually found the endzone on a five-yard ramble by O’Brien. Pittman converted his third PAT and the blue and orange stretched their lead to 21-0 with 4:53 remaining in the first.

Upper failed to move the ball on their fourth possession, punting for the third time. Kalib Griffin made some dazzling moves on the return but the play was called back on a hold from the return team. Alsip would take a hand-off from Frankhouse and was off to the races before having the ball stripped from him at the Upper 46. That would prove to be the only possession in which the Tigers would not score.

The visitors would end up punting on both their following possessions, each of which led to Galion touchdowns. Alsip scored on a two-yard run and again on a nine-yard catch with 9:53 remaining in the half. Pittman remained spotless on extra-point attempts and the Tigers led; 35-0.

On the ensuing drive by the Rams, Alsip collected his second interception and returned the ball to the Rams’ 13-yard line. Following an incomplete pass attempt to Griffin in the endzone, Frankhouse connected with Jackson Staton for the score and Pittman made it 42-0 with 9:30 left. Upper would be able to find the Galion side of the field on their eighth possession of the evening but lightning would cause the game to be delayed with 7:57 remaining in the first half.

The game would then be called and went down as a victory for Galion, sending them to 3-0 entering Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play in week four where they will host the visiting River Valley Vikings. For Upper, they fall to 1-2 ahead of their Northern-10 Athletic Conference opener in which they’ll host the Colonel Crawford Eagles.

Galion controlled the ball for just 7:13 of the shortened game but posted 291 yards of total offense in that time.

Frankhouse was 9/14 passing, good for 154 yards and two touchdowns while also carrying the ball four times for 84 yards and two scores. Alsip posted 1/1 passing for 21 yards, two carries for a yard and a TD, caught five passes for 93 yards and a score while also earning the two interceptions.

Other statistics for the Tigers in the lopsided victory were: O’Brien- 4 carries, 28 yards, TD; Hanif Donaldson- 2 carries, 3 yards, 1 catch, 2 yards; Griffin- 1 catch, 35 yards; Vanderkooi- 1 catch, 21 yards; Staton- 1 catch, 13 yards, TD; Jarod Bennett- 1 catch, 11 yards and Pittman- 6/6 PAT, now 17/17 on the season.

Scores around the MOAC on Friday were: River Valley (3-0) 44, Highland 2; Pleasant (3-0) 49, Cardinal Stritch 24; Big Walnut 21, Shelby (2-1) 14; Harding (1-2) 23, Newark 20. Clear Fork at Lexington and Ontario at Black River are scheduled to resume on Saturday.

Colonel Crawford 46, Cardington 14

NORTH ROBINSON — The Colonel Crawford Eagles hosted the Cardington Pirates on Friday evening in week three action.

Crawford, celebrating their homecoming, would strike first and would maintain their lead throughout as they moved to 2-1 on the season with a 46-14 victory.

The Eagles used nearly 500 yards of total offense en route to the win, which came early on Saturday morning due to weather delays, with 364 of those yards coming via the ground game.

Week four will mark the beginning of the N-10 schedule for Colonel Crawford as they travel to Upper Sandusky to battle with the hosting Rams.

Other scores around the N-10 were: Plymouth 32, Buckeye Central (0-3) 0; Grandview Heights 29, Bucyrus (1-2) 0; Crestview 3, Carey (0-3) 0; Gibsonburg 23, Mohawk (2-1) 6 and Waynesfield-Goshen 60, Ridgedale 19. Wynford at Allen East was postponed to Saturday while Seneca East will finish their game at Willard on Saturday as well. The Tigers lead the Crimson Flashes at halftime; 42-14.

Northmor 14, Lucas 13

LUCAS — In a much anticipated matchup, the Northmor Golden Knights headed to Lucas on Friday, September 13 to meet up with the hosting Cubs.

All scoring was done in the first half, starting with an eight-yard touchdown connection between Northmor’s Hunter Mariotti and Blake Miller. Nate Ruhl would miss the extra-point and the Knights were up 6-0 with 4:44 remaining in the opening quarter. Just six seconds into the second quarter, Northmor would cap their drive as Mariotti found Miller yet again, this time from 34-yards out to take the lead to 12-0. The visitors opted for a two-point conversion attempt and were successful as Max Lower scampered in to make it 14-0 in favor of the black and gold.

Lucas would find the scoreboard with a one-yard touchdown run and extra-point conversion with 9:28 left in the half. Less than six minutes later, the Cubs would score their second touchdown on a 26-yard aerial strike but would miss the extra-point attempt to bring the game to its’ eventual final score of 14-13 in favor of the visitors.

The home team would outgain the Knights in total offense, posting 308 total yards (46 passing, 262 rushing) to Northmor’s 291 (175 passing, 116 rushing) but it would be the visitors moving to 3-0 on the season ahead of their Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference opener in week four, at home, against the Centerburg Trojans.

Other scores in the KMAC from week three were: Worthington Christian 33, Danville 26; Fredericktown 42, Utica 20; Centerburg 7, Northridge 6; East Knox 33, River View 14 and Mount Gilead, snapping a 24-game losing streak, 41, Elgin 40.