Lima Senior’s Kahliq Wash breaks a Bowsher tackle on Friday night at Spartan Stadium.
Nate Reynolds | The Lima News
LIMA – It was a slow start for Lima Senior in Friday’s Toledo City Athletic League football matchup with visiting Toledo Bowsher.
However, once Lima Senior’s offense got into sync, the game was pretty much over by the second half.
Lima Senior’s high-powered spread offense proved to be too much for Bowsher to handle as the Spartans rolled to a convincing 51-14 victory over the Blue Racers on Friday night at Spartan Stadium.
Lima Senior junior quarterback Ja’Niaus Hall was 20 of 37 passing for 515 yards with six touchdown passes. Hall also rushed for a TD.
The Spartans improved to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the TCAL. Bowsher slipped to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in league play. This marks the sixth time in school history that Lima Senior has started the season 5-0.
One of the reasons Lima Senior took a while to get the offense going on Friday was because of penalties. For the game, Lima Senior was whistled 13 times for 152 yards.
“It gets you out of rhythm. (We had) penalties early. We weren’t in rhythm,” Lima Senior coach Bill Lawrence said. “They (Bowsher) came out and showed a defense they haven’t played all season long. We just took a little bit to get it going. But once we got it going, we got it revved up and were dropping from everywhere.”
Hall connected with six different receivers on Friday.
Kahliq Wash caught four passes for 173 yards and had two touchdowns. Boog Wilson hauled in seven passes for 165 yards and a TD. Keyon Smith had five receptions for 94 yards and a score. Vontae Watkins-Daniel had two catches for 70 yards and a TD. Amontrae Davis had a 15-yard TD pass for the Spartans.
“That’s what we try to do. … We have to spread it around,” Lawrence said. “We have a lot of guys that can do great things. We spread the ball around and get it to all our athletes. It starts up front. Our offensive line did a good job.”
Hardin Northern rides Hopson
DOLA — On Friday night against Perry, Hardin Northern played “Brunow ball,” a style of play trademarked by former head coach Pete Brunow, who the field was renamed for during a pregame ceremony.
Brunow, a winner of 221 games over 26 years with the Polar Bears, said his playbook might have had five total plays in it, and four of them were runs.
In Hardin Northern’s 38-15 win over Perry (2-3, 0-3 NWCC), it appeared as if the Polar Bears (4-1, 4-0 NWCC) had one play in the playbook — hand the ball to Nolan Hopson, and it was all they needed.
Hopson exploded for 214 yards and four touchdowns on 36 carries He finished the night with 226 all-purpose yards in the conference victory.
“He’s got really good vision so a lot of those plays come from cut-backs and he’s just fast enough that if he gets a step on you, then he can get to the house,” Hardin Northern coach Jerry Cooper said of Hopson. “There’s a lot of good things for him to take away from this one.”
Hopson scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter and a 9-yard run in the second. He found the endzone twice in the third, once from 10 yards out and another on a 64-yard sprint with 4:13 left in the quarter.
Hopson found the majority of his success running behind tackle Wyatt Pore (6-5, 265 lbs) and tight end Bodi Hipsher (6-3, 255 lbs). Cooper credits Hopson’s two biggest blockers for making plays on the second level of runs after getting off the ball on the initial push.
“In the first half, they were just kind of mowing around but in the second half they created some holes, so give those guys some credit too,” Cooper said. “Those guys are big and they can get a push but the key is to get those blocks at the second level. We did a much better job of that in the second half.”
Rockets run wild
PANDORA — Arlington just knotted Friday night’s game against Pandora-Gilboa on a 20-yard pick-six return after a pass ricocheted into a Red Devil defender’s hand just after halftime.
As it turned out, Pandora-Gilboa had Arlington right where it wanted.
The Rockets scored 21 unanswered points and held a 290-18 second-half yardage advantage in P-G’s 49-28 win at home. The Rockets finished with a rusher topping 200 yards, another RB above 100 yards and a receiver besting 100 yards.
“With that turning point right there, we just keep our heads up and keep plowing through to go way down the field,” said Pandora-Gilboa running back Andrew Miller, who finished with 22 carries for 203 yards and two second-quarter touchdowns.
Teammate Ben Burkholder added 118 yards on 19 carries.
The Rockets (3-2, 3-0 Blanchard Valley Conference) originally expected a close game based off their last matchup with the Red Devils, a 2020 loss that came down to a missed two-point attempt at the end.
It looked like a repeat performance in the first half, especially in a second quarter where the teams combined for 36 points, with the Rockets holding a 28-21 edge at the half.
“Obviously we had hoped to be a little bit better defensively, but credit to them. They made plays, and we didn’t,” P-G coach Matt Hershey said. “Obviously, in the second half, we shut them out, so our kids came refocused out of halftime and got the job done.”
The Rockets’ defense was stellar in the final 24 minutes after allowing Arlington running back Ayden Cavinee to run for 75 yards in the first half. He had minus-1 yard in the second half, although part of that was the Red Devils (3-2, 2-2 BVC) threw more as they fell further behind. Hershey said his defense made an adjustment to attack Arlington’s option pitch, which gave the Rockets fits in the first half.
“We get an interception for a touchdown to start the second half, and we’re tied up again,” Arlington coach Nick Inbody said. “Then they kind of ran away with it from there. They won the line of scrimmage, and their running backs are really nice players. We just struggled to tackle them.”
Miller and Burkholder offer different running styles, with Miller offering what Hershey called the “ground and pound,” and Burkholder offering more explosive runs. The Rockets finished with a 563-183 yardage edge, including 400 rushing yards.
Top performers
• In Bath’s 62-56 win over Elida, Zach Welsch went 19 of 30 for 249 yards and three touchdowns. He ran the ball 18 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Mikey Hale ran for 233 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Jaxon Foster added 6 receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
• In Ottawa-Glandorf’s 21-16 loss to St. Marys, Daegan Miller made 6 catches for 102 yards.
• In Celina’s 38-35 win over Kenton, Bobby Morris passed for 127 yards and two touchdowns and ran the ball 24 times for 215 yards and two touchdowns. Kaiden Werntz had three receptions for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
• In Wapakoneta’s 35-14 win over Van Wert, Caleb Moyer went 17 of 22 for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He added 21 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Running back Jarrett Mullen carried the ball 5 times for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Grant Stauffer (3 catches, 91 yards) and Kaden Page (7 catches, 83 yards) each had one receiving touchdown.
• In Van Wert’s 35 -14 loss to Wapakoneta, Briston Wise finished with 26 rushes for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
• In Columbus Grove’s 65-6 win over Delphos Jefferson, three of Alex Meyer’s four completions went for touchdowns. Trevon Baxter caught two of them (4 catches, 58 yards). Running back Trenton Barraza added 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 15 carries.
• In a Delphos St. John’s 27-14 win over Fort Recovery, Drew Boggs had 9 rushes for 122 yards and three touchdowns.
• In Coldwater’s 24-21 win over Minster, Bryce Couchot hit the game-winning 31-yard field goal with 1:40 left.
• In Marion Local’s 48-7 win over New Bremen, Parker Hess ran the ball 9 times for 190 yards and four touchdowns.
• In Leipsic’s 34-6 win over Arcadia, Jayce Brecht caught 6 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
FOOTBALL STANDINGS
Western Buckeye League
`WBL`All
Wapakoneta`4-0`5-0
Bath`4-0`4-1
Celina`3-1`4-1
Defiance`3-1`3-2
St. Marys`2-2`3-2
Ottawa-Glandorf`2-2`2-3
Shawnee`1-3`2-3
Kenton`1-3`1-4
Elida`0-4`1-4
Van Wert`0-4`1-4
Midwest Athletic Conference
`MAC`All
Marion Local`3-0`5-0
Coldwater`3-0`5-0
Versailles`3-0`5-0
Minster`2-1`4-1
Anna`1-2`3-2
Delphos St. John’s`1-2`2-3
New Bremen`1-2`3-2
St. Henry`1-2`2-3
Fort Recovery`0-3`1-4
Parkway`0-3`1-4
Northwest Conference
`NWC`All
Columbus Grove`2-0`5-0
Bluffton`2-0`5-0
Lima Central Catholic`2-0`4-1
Allen East`1-1`3-2
Fort Loramie`1-1`2-3
Spencerville`0-2`3-2
Crestview`0-2`2-3
Delphos Jefferson`0-2`1-4
Northwest Central Conference
`NWCC`All
Upper Scioto Valley`4-0`4-1
Hardin Northern`4-0`4-1
Ridgemont`3-0`4-1
Elgin`3-1`3-2
Waynesfield-Goshen`1-2`3-2
North Baltimore`1-3`2-3
Perry`0-3`2-3
Ridgedale`0-3`1-4
Cory-Rawson`0-4`1-4
Blanchard Valley Conference
`BVC`All
Liberty-Benton`3-0`4-1
Pandora-Gilboa`3-0`3-2
Ada`2-1`4-1
Leipsic`2-1`3-2
Van Buren`2-1`3-2
Arlington`1-2`3-2
McComb`1-2`3-2
Riverdale`1-2`2-3
Arcadia`0-3`0-5
Elmwood`0-3`0-5
Toledo City Athletic Conference
`TCAL`All
Rogers`2-0`2-3
Lima Senior`1-0`5-0
Start`1-0`2-3
Bowsher`1-1`1-4
Scott`1-1`1-4
Waite`0-2`0-5
Woodward`0-2`0-5
RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 20
Ada 35, McComb 20
Allen East 48, Crestview 41
Anna 21, St. Henry 14
Bath 62, Elida 56
Bluffton 55, Spencerville 0
Celina 38, Kenton 35
Coldwater 24, Minster 21
Columbus Grove 65, Delphos Jefferson 6
Defiance 43, Shawnee 7
Delphos St John’s 27, Fort Recovery 14
Elgin 28, Cory-Rawson 3
Hardin Northern 38, Perry 15
Hicksville 15, Antwerp 12
Lima Senior 51, Bowsher 14
Leipsic 34, Arcadia 6
Liberty-Benton 45, Elmwood 0
LCC 28, Fort Loramie 21
Marion Local 48, New Bremen 7
Pandora-Gilboa 49, Arlington 28
Paulding 35, Ayersville 0
St Marys 21, Ottawa-Glandorf 16
Upper Scioto Valley 38, Ridgedale 8
Van Buren 48, Riverdale 0
Versailles 37, Parkway 12
Wapakoneta 35, Van Wert 14
Wayne Trace 26, Edgerton 0
Waynesfield-Goshen 49, North Baltimore 14
Saturday, Sept. 21
Ridgemont 53, Montpelier 28
Friday, Sept. 27
Columbus Grove at Allen East, 7 p.m.
LCC at Bluffton, 7 p.m.
Crestview at Delphos Jefferson, 7 p.m.
Spencerville at Fort Loramie, 7 p.m.
Ottawa-Glandorf at Bath, 7 p.m.
Celina at Elida, 7 p.m.
Kenton at Defiance, 7 p.m.
Shawnee at Wapakoneta, 7 p.m.
St. Marys at Van Wert, 7 p.m.
Parkway at Coldwater, 7 p.m.
Fort Recovery at New Bremen, 7 p.m.
Minster at St. Henry, 7 p.m.
Marion Local at Versailles, 7 p.m.
Liberty-Benton at Arlington, 7 p.m.
Pandora-Gilboa at Elmwood, 7 p.m.
Van Buren at McComb, 7 p.m.
Cory-Rawson at Waynesfield-Goshen, 7 p.m.
Hardin Northern at Ridgedale, 7 p.m.
North Baltimore at Perry, 7 p.m.
Upper Scioto Valley at Ridgemont, 7 p.m.
Lima Senior at Woodward, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 28
Anna at Delphos St. John’s, 1:30 p.m.
