By Bryan Kress
After adverse weather turned Friday night lights into Saturday night lights, Bluffton seemed poised to win its 2nd game of the season. Delphos Jefferson had other plans heading into the final 12-minutes of the game.
Jefferson rallied for 21 points in the fourth quarter to win the game 21-14. It was a heartbreaker for the Pirates who were pitching a shutout and found some rhythm in its passing game.
Bluffton opened up the game strong as Robbie Stratton hit Drake Luginbuhl down the middle on a 34-yard toss in the opening drive making the score 7-0.
Jefferson would threaten several times in the half as two touchdowns were dropped in the end zone, and two more touchdown passes were called back on offensive penalties. Despite the best efforts of the Jefferson offense, Bluffton was capitalizing defensively on the Jefferson miscues.
Neither team could find its way into the end zone before the game was stopped by lightning, ending the night for both teams.
The game picked back up Saturday night and it seemed that the Pirates benefited most from the delay as the defense forced a three-and-out on the first drive of the unofficial second half.
The offense also looked strong coming out of the delay as Zach Wilson busted up the middle for a 47-yard gain on the ground. Bluffton would cap the drive with another Stratton to Luginbuhl connection, this time a 5-yarder to make the game 14-0.
Momentum looked to be on Bluffton’s side during the two-day slug fest, but Jefferson’s offense which had scored 63 points the previous game kicked into gear and the Bluffton defense had no answer.
The first Jefferson score resulted on a botched snap on a punt attempt for the Pirates as Jefferson punched a score in on a drive that started on the Pirate 26-yard line.
Jefferson could not find any running room all day averaging a measly 2 yards a carry, but after an interception was overturned by the officials the rest of the damage was done through the air as Jefferson’s Austin Jettinghoff threw 2 touchdowns in the final frame to finish the game off at 21-14.
Despite the loss much could be seen as positive in this game. The defense held a strong offense in check for nearly the whole game and Robbie Stratton looked comfortable throwing the ball. Stratton went 7 for 13 with 116 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Bluffton will head on the road to play another strong offense in (2-1) Crestview.
