Bellefontaine was impressive on offense, defense and in special teams in a dismantling of visiting Kenton Ridge on Friday.
The Chiefs rushed for 280 yards, limited the Cougars to 182 yards of offense and returned a block punt for a touchdown in a 41-7 rout on homecoming night.
“This is a great team win,” said Bellefontaine head coach Toby Smith. “Everyone did what they were supposed to do. This game showed the type of team we can be when we play a complete game.”
Bellefontaine improves to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division. It was the third straight loss for the Cougars, who are now 4-4, 0-3.
Bellefontaine, which raced to a 35-7 halftime lead, dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
On the defense, Bellefontaine recorded seven tackles for loss and held the Cougars to 118 rushing yards on 26 carries and 64 passing yards on 14 attempts.
The Chiefs did not commit a turnover and were penalized just four times for 25 yards.
“We talk about everyone doing their jobs and this is what happens when everyone does that,” said Smith. “We weren’t perfect. We still have some things to clean up, but it was an effort we feel really good about.”
The Chiefs set the tone for the night on the first offensive series of the game, putting together a 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 7-yard touchdown run by Garrett Gross.
“It is huge any time you can start like that,” said Smith. “It sends a message to the other team that you are ready to play.”
Kenton Ridge responded with a long scoring drive of its own. The Cougars marched 71 yards on 11 plays, with quarterback Dylan Lemen finding the end zone on a 16-yard run to tie the score at 7-7 with 3:33 left in the first quarter.
Bellefontaine reached into its bag of tricks for a second touchdown.
On a fourth-and-nine play at the Kenton Ridge 20-yard line, Gross took a pitch from quarterback Grant Smith and then pulled up and tossed a pass to a wide open Ethan Moore, who went in for the touchdown and a 14-7 Chieftain lead at the 11:03 mark of the second quarter.
Later in the second period, the Chiefs found themselves pinned at their own 1-yard line following a Kenton Ridge punt.
However, Bellefontaine’s offense was undeterred as it drove 99 yards on 12 plays. Gross punched in a 6-yard TD run to put the hosts up 21-7 with 4:05 left until halftime.
Lemen suffered an injury on Kenton Ridge’s next series and did not return. Backup quarterback Noah Moore was picked off by Ethan Moore to set up the BHS offense at the Kenton Ridge 28-yard line.
The Chiefs weren’t done.
On the Cougars’ ensuing possession, they went three-and-out to force a punt. Bellefontaine’s Jacob Kidwell got a piece of the punt and Tucker Newland ran underneath the ball. He then raced untouched for a 41-yard touchdown that gave BHS a 35-7 advantage at halftime.
Bellefontaine tacked on a final touchdown in the third quarter on a 2-yard run by Brandon Hayes.
Gross led the Chiefs’ rushing attack with 114 yards and his three TDs on 14 carries. Ty Leeper had 45 rushing yards on seven carries and added 46 receiving yards on two grabs. Hayes had 30 rushing yards on seven carries and Tank Pence contributed 29 receiving yards on two catches.
Smith was 7-of-9 passing for 91 yards.
Kidwell and Derek Hennigan each had a sack to spark the Chieftain defense.
Bellefontaine is back in action Friday at home against London, which was dealt its first loss of the season Friday with a 30-22 defeat to Springfield Shawnee.