Pacers get back on track with 38-8 win

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Freshman quarterback Blake Eiland had a big night, accounting for four touchdowns to lead the Delaware Hayes football team to a 38-8 non-league win over visiting Washington Court House Friday night.

He broke the scoring seal with a seven-yard TD run early in the first and, after the Pacer (2-2) defense kept the Blue Lions in check with a pair of picks, hit Isaiah Moore for an 18-yard touchdown strike with 8:56 left in the second quarter.

Virgil Rhodes and Chris Johnson had Hayes’ two early interceptions.

The defense put the Pacers in good positions all night long. After Hayes forced a fumble at the Blue Lion 30, Zach Ruen and the offense capitalized with a field goal to make it a 17-0 game.

Eiland got back in on the action shortly after that, hooking up with Blain McCormick from 19 yards out to make it 24-0 just before the break.

The Pacers were bigger, stronger, faster and just plain better … and that was never more evident than in the first half. Hayes entered the break with 158 passing yards and 117 rushing yards. The defense, meanwhile, allowed just 29 yards of total offense in addition to forcing the three turnovers.

Washington Court House marched down the field for a touchdown on its first drive of the second half, then picked up the two-point conversion, but it didn’t matter.

Eiland answered with a highlight-reel 68-yard touchdown run to balloon the Pacer advantage to 31-8. Luke Jackson scored from three yards out to extend the lead in the fourth quarter and all but end things.

Eiland completed nine of his 11 passes for 158 yards and two TDs while adding another 121 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Quarterback Richard Burns led the Blue Lions with 110 yards passing to go with a touchdown and three interceptions.

Buckeye Valley 28, River Valley 13

Trent Davies ran for 257 yards and a couple touchdowns as the Barons reeled off their third straight win Friday night in Delaware.

“Three in a row is nice,” BV coach Matt Stephens said. “We haven’t done that since I’ve been here. It feels good. In the second half, the guys just kind of locked in, stopped making mental mistakes and started mashing.”

The game was tied 7-7 at halftime. Buckeye Valley scored when Teren Wycoff powered in from seven yards out with one minute left in the first quarter. River Valley then answered when Michael Blevins found the end zone for a six-yard touchdown late in the second.

That’s when BV (3-1) took over.

Davies scored from a yard out in the third and, after Grant Owens and Tanner Hogg hooked up for a 16-yard scoring strike early in the fourth, Davies punched in another, this time from 15-yards out to make it a 28-7 game.

Davies had a ton to do with his monster game, obviously, but the offensive line had a lot to do with it as well.

“We were down a starting tackle, but Cam Mirka, a senior, came in and did some good work for us,” Stephens said. “He didn’t win the starting job, but I was really proud of him tonight. All the guys up front played well, but I was especially proud of him.”

The Vikings smoothed out the scoring summary when quarterback Josh Ellwood scored on a one-yard keeper late in the final frame.

Olentangy Orange 35, Big Walnut 10

The Golden Eagles gave the Pioneers all they could handle in the first half, entering the break up 10-7, but Orange took control in the second half to notch a lopsided non-league win Friday in Sunbury.

Tyler Shuster put Big Walnut (0-4) on the board with a 22-yard field goal midway through the second quarter and, after Orange (4-0) quarterback Luke Schmeling scored on a 48-yard touchdown run a minute later, Tyler Ronk found a wide-open Colin White for a 70-yard touchdown pass with two minutes left in the first half.

The Pioneers dominated the second half, though, outscoring the Eagles 14-0 in each of the final two quarters.

Mark Roberts had a 42-yard touchdown run early in the third, a pick-six by Brant Kightlinger pushed the Orange edge to 21-10 with 1:49 left in the third and Jack Applegate sealed the deal with a pair of touchdown runs in the fourth. The first was from a yard away and the second from five yards out.

Schmeling completed seven of his 13 passes for 59 yards and two interceptions. Ronk, meanwhile, completed nine of his 19 passes for 179 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions for Big Walnut.

Applegate was the game’s leading rusher, finishing with 123 yards on 12 carries to go with his two TDs. Abe Myers, who left the game with an injury, led Big Walnut with 51 yards rushing on 18 attempts.

Olentangy Liberty 17, Hilliard Davidson 10

The Patriots didn’t score a point in the second half, but it didn’t matter as the defense used a late goal-line stand to get past the Wildcats in non-league action Friday in Hilliard.

Liberty (3-1) led 10-0 by the end of the first quarter. Quarterback Mitchell Okuley hit Johnny Wiseman for a 40-yard touchdown connection with 8:22 left in the opening frame and Mitchell Kershner made it 10-0 with a 21-yard field goal six minutes later.

Kalib O’Connor got Davidson on the board with a two-yard TD run midway through the second, but the Patriots got the points right back as Okuley found Ben Roderick for a six-yard touchdown pass just before halftime.

Sean Carrier’s 21-yard field goal made it a one-possession game late, but the Patriots didn’t let the Wildcats get any closer.

Okuley completed 19 of his 24 passes for 189 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while Matt Webb was the Patriots’ leading rusher with 43 yards on 16 attempts.

Roderick, meanwhile, had seven grabs for 78 yards and his score.

Carson Felicetty, who carried the ball 28 times, led the Wildcats with 117 rushing yards.

Hayes freshman Blake Eiland breaks loose on his way to a long touchdown run during the second half of Friday’s non-league showdown against visiting Washington Courthouse.
http://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2017/09/web1_eiland-1.jpgHayes freshman Blake Eiland breaks loose on his way to a long touchdown run during the second half of Friday’s non-league showdown against visiting Washington Courthouse.
BV, Orange, Liberty all win, too

By Ben Stroup

[email protected]

Follow Ben Stroup on Twitter @delgazette_ben.

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