St. Clair-Newcomb connection sizzles as Chiefs sting Jackets in opener
SIDNEY — Welcome to Bellefontaine Braylon Newcomb.
Newcomb, who moved in from Centerville last spring, put on a dazzling show along with Chieftain star quarterback Tavien St. Clair here Friday night as Bellefontaine rolled to an impressive 48-21 win over Sidney in the 2024 season opener.
Newcomb made 13 catches for a school-record 235 yards and had three touchdown grabs, while St. Clair accounted for six scores.
The previous record for receiving yards in a game was 214, set by Tyson Shirk in 1997.
“I want to thank God and give him all the glory,” said Newcomb, when informed of his record-setting night. “I owe so much to my teammates and the coaches … I absolutely love being in Bellefontaine. I will never regret making the decision to come here. I love this team and I am going to do anything I can to help this team win.”
Pirates stave off late comeback to hold on for win over Ansonia
An aerial assault propelled the Riverside Pirates to big halftime lead Friday in the season opener against Ansonia.
The Pirates had to withstand an effective ground-and-pound counteroffensive in the second half to hold on for a 41-32 win over the Tigers in a non-league matchup.
On a night when the Pirates put up 271 yards and four touchdowns through the air, it was a breakaway running play late in the fourth quarter that sealed the game.
Houston Anderson took a third-and-five handoff with 3:30 remaining in the game and Riverside up by two points, and scampered 65 yards off the left side in front of the Riverside bench for a game-sealing touchdown.
It was a sigh of relief for the Pirates, who had seen a 22-point halftime nearly evaporate in the second half.
Riverside scored 34 points in the second quarter to seize control of the game.
Gavin Orsborne threw four touchdown passes and ran for another as part of the scoring onslaught. Landon Purtee caught a pair of TDs.