NEW CARLISLE — Bellefontaine’s football team closed out the 2019 season on a positive note here Friday, cruising to a 48-13 win over host Tecumseh in a Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division game.
The Chiefs finish the season at 6-4 overall and 2-3 in the CBC. Tecumseh dropped to 1-9, 0-5.
“That is the type of effort we expected,” said Bellefontaine head coach Toby Smith. “These seniors again showed the type of leaders they are. We were able to spread the ball around and get a lot of guys involved.”
Although the Chiefs fell short of their goals of winning a league title and making the playoffs, Smith felt good about the progress he saw throughout the season.
“We got better, and that’s the main thing you are asking for,” said Smith. “The kids kept battling and competing. Our four losses came to a 10-0 team, a 9-1 team and two 8-2 teams. We feel good about the way our kids competed this season.
“I am proud of our seniors. They won 29 games in their careers and five of them started on a team that won the first home playoff game in school history. Those kids have a lot to be proud of.”
Bellefontaine outgained the Arrows 339-191 in total yardage. The Chiefs were balanced, rushing for 172 yards and throwing for 167.
The Chiefs put the game out of reach early on with three first-quarter touchdowns.
Senior Garrett Gross returned the opening kickoff 68 yards to set Bellefontaine up at the 10-yard line. Senior quarterback Grant Smith threw an 8-yard pass to Tank Pence and then scored on a two-yard keeper to give the Chiefs a 7-0 lead 24 seconds into the game.
“That was a big way to start,” said Smith. “We were able to take away any life they had.”
Tecumseh fumbled on its first offensive possession and the Chiefs recovered at the Tecumseh 36-yard line.
The Chiefs took advantage of the opportunity, putting together a quick scoring drive that was capped by a 7-yard TD run by Brandon Hayes at the 8:23 mark of the first quarter.
Bellefontaine pushed its lead to 21-0 with 2:34 left in the opening period on a 3-yard TD pass from Smith to Pence.
“That was the first touchdown of Tank’s life,” said Smith. “It was awesome for him to experience that.”
Gross, who went over 1,000 rushing yards for the season, put Bellefontaine up 28-0 on a 23-yard TD run with 3:01 left until halftime.
Tecumseh got on the scoreboard on the final play of the first half as Jaden Macik scored on a 3-yard TD run to make the halftime score 28-7.
Bellefontaine stayed in control in the second half. Smith threw a 57-yard TD pass to Ethan Moore to increase the Chiefs’ lead to 35-7 with 6:51 left in the third quarter.
Smith followed with a 3-yard TD run at the 2:19 mark of the third to make the score 41-7.
Tecumseh found the end zone for the second time of the night early in the fourth quarter on a 49-yard TD pass from Caden Riley to Braden Berner. That made the score 41-13.
Smith rounded out the scoring with 7:29 remaining on a 34-yard TD keeper.
Gross finished with 56 rushing yards on seven carries, Smith had 53 yards on 10 rushes and Hayes added 53 yards on eight attempts.
Smith, who eclipsed 1,000 passing yards for the season, was 8-of-9 for 166 yards. Moore had four catches for 110 yards, Tucker Newland caught two passes for 45 yards and Pence had a pair of catches for 11 yards.
Bellefontaine’s defense was sparked by Cole Comstock, who had a pair of interceptions. Reed added a fumble recovery.
BHS 48, TECUMSEH 13
Bellefontaine 21 • 7 • 13 • 7 – 48
Tecumseh 0 • 7 • 0 • 6 – 13
TEAM STATISTICS BHS • THS
First downs 11 • 10
Total net yards 339 • 191
Rushes/yards 30/172 • 32/34
Passing 167 • 157
Comp-att-int 9-10-1 • 12-23-2
Punts/avg 0/0 • 3/41.6
Fumbles-lost 1-1 • 4-1
Penalties-yards 6-77 • 8-80