In its first road game of the season, Bluffton raced to a big lead and held off Defiance Ayersville 25-13 in a Friday night, September 3, non-league battle.
The victory upped the Bluffton record to 3-0, while Ayersville dropped to 2-1 after the loss. The Pilots entered the game rated first in the Div. VII, Region 26 rankings.
Bluffton scored the first 25 points of the contest before Ayersville got on the board with a touchdown in each of the final two periods. But it was too little, too late.
Pirate senior quarterback Nate Schaadt rushed for three TDs and 188 yards to pace the victors.
Schaadt's 53-yard scamper to paydirt at the 5:15 mark of the first period began the scoring. The extra point try was no good to keep the lead at 6-0.
Schaadt then ran 44 yards for the second TD just 19 seconds into the second stanza. The two-point run try failed and Bluffton led 12-0.
Then with 4:33 left in the first half, Schaadt again found the end zone on a two-yard run. The point after kick missed and the Pirates took an 18-0 cushion to intermission.
The Pirates added to their lead just 35 ticks into the second half. Landen Worcester intercepted a Jacob Trevino pass and returned it to the end zone.
The point after kick by Gabe Meza was good to extend the margin to 25-0.
Trevino got Ayersville on the scoreboard with a two-yard TD run with 7:54 left in the third period. The extra point kick was good to cut the Pilot deficit to 25-7.
Trevino then connected with Hayden Dales on a three-yard TD pass with 3:46 remaining to play. The two-point conversion pass failed to keep the Pirates in front by a dozen points.
1 2 3 4 F
Blu 6 12 7 0 25
DA 0 0 7 6 13
Notes and stats
Bluffton netted 257 yards in total offense on 49 plays for a 5.2 yard average per play. The Pirates compiled 11 first downs.
The Pilots amassed 327 yards on 77 plays for 4.2 yards per play. Ayersville racked up 22 first downs.
The Pirates ran the ball 40 times for 225 yards (5.6 avg.), while Ayersville carried the pigskin 46 times for 226 yards (4.9).
Schaadt rushed 24 times for 188 yards (7.8 avg.) and three TDs. Schaadt also completed three of nine pass attempts for 32 yards.
Landon Shutler netted 35 yards rushing on 12 runs.
Braeden Jordan caught two aerials for 15 yards. Ethan Bogart snared the other pass for 17 yards.
Trevino completed 14 of 27 passes for 97 yards with one TD and a costly pick six among his three interceptions Trevino also rushed 21 times for 95 yards.
Owen Berner ran 14 times for 107 yards to lead the Pilot ground game.
Dales had six receptions for 42 yards and one score. Ike Eiden added three grabs for 31 yards.
Beau Stever and Worcester each compiled 7.5 tackles and one interception to lead the Pirate defense. Aaron Tabler added another interception.
Bluffton committed one turnover on a fumble, while the hosts were guilty of three turnovers. The Pirates were penalized seven times for 65 yards, and the Pilots were also flagged seven times for 45 yards.
Bluffton had the ball for 19:13, while Ayersville possessed it for 28:47 of play. The Pirates converted none of 13 third down attempts, and went 3-6 on fourth down. The Pilots were four of 16 on third down tries, and 3-10 on fourth down.
Bluffton (1-0 road) opens Northwest Conference play in week four at Spencerville (1-2). The Bearcats lost at LCC Friday, 34-13. They also fell to Shawnee 20-13 in their opener, and whipped Delphos St. John's 44-13 in week two.
The unbeaten Pirates moved into the top five of the early unofficial Div. VI, Region 22 computer rankings with their third win.
