Newcomb, Chiefs dominate Raiders
Tavien St. Clair, Braylon Newcomb and the rest of Bellefontaine’s offense left Benjamin Logan head football coach Paul Jenne exasperated Friday night.
“We saw an amazingly talented team tonight,” said Jenne. “Matchup wise, we knew we were going to struggle.”
Asked how one draws up a game plan to contain the Chiefs, he said “you tell yourself good luck.”
Newcomb, the dazzling senior transfer from Centerville, caught touchdown passes of 39, 53 and 26 yards from St. Clair and Newcomb opened the second half with a 99-yard kick return for a TD as the host Chiefs rolled to a 49-0 victory in the matchup of Logan County rivals at AcuSport Stadium.
In addition to Newcomb’s kick return score, the Chiefs had a defensive touchdown on a night when they controlled the game on both sides of the ball.
“I am really proud of the effort tonight,” said Bellefontaine head coach Jason Brown. “Our young men played up to the standard we expect to play at and we executed well in all three phases.”
The Chiefs (3-1) outgained the Raiders (0-4) 320-112.
St. Clair, who played just one offensive series in the second half, was 11-of-12 passing for 222 yards and the three TDs to Newcomb.
Newcomb had six catches for 153 yards. On the season, he now has 33 receptions for 641 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“He’s a playmaker,” said St. Clair of his sidekick. “That’s what he does. I know what Braylon is capable of and that’s what I expect to see from him every game.”
For the second straight week, the Chieftain offense was impressive on the ground as well. Bellefontaine rushed for 102 yards on 16 attempts, averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
“It really feels like we are building an identity as an offense,” said St. Clair. “Our offensive line is getting more comfortable and our running game is gaining confidence every week.”
The young Raiders continued to struggle to string positive plays together.
Late TD lifts Pirates past Bees
The Riverside Pirates snapped a two-game losing streak in dramatic fashion Friday night, securing a 20-13 victory over the Bethel Bees in a Three Rivers Conference game.
Riverside improves to 2-2 (1-0). Bethel drops to 1-3 (0-1).
Quarterback Gavin Orsborne connected with Damien Smith for the game-winning 24-yard touchdown pass with just over a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, capping off a back-and-forth game that came down to the wire.
And they had to do it twice. One play before the game-winning TD pass, Orsborne found Smith for what was then a 14-yard TD pass that was negated by a holding penalty. Ten yards and one play later, it was the same result as Riverside pulled ahead for good.
The game-winning pass punctuated a frenetic fourth quarter that saw the teams combine for 21 points and matching touchdowns in the final moments of the contest.
“We found a way to get it done and earn a win tonight,” Pirates head coach Bryce Hodge said. “The resilience they showed to come back and fight back from adversity was really impressive.”
Riverside scored first in the game Friday. The Pirates took an early lead in the first quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run from Orsborne, though a missed extra point left them with a 6-0 advantage.
Bethel battled back and tied the game in the second quarter before halftime. For the Pirates, it could have been much worse.
Riverside’s defense held strong with its back against the goal line, twice forcing Bethel to settle for short, 17-yard field goals. The Bees tied the game 6-6 just before halftime with their second field goal coming in the closing seconds.
Get all of the local high school coverage in Saturday’s Examiner.