By Cort Reynolds
The Bluffton High School football team lambasted Spencerville 56-0 in a Northwest Conference road contest Friday night, September 15, to stay undefeated.
The Pirates raced to a 35-0 halftime lead and cruised to victory.
Landen Worcester rushed for three touchdowns and 171 yards to pace the potent Pirate ground game, which compiled 414 yards.
The one-sided victory upped the Pirate record to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in NWC play. Meanwhile, the Bearcats fell to 2-3 and 0-2 in league action after the decisive loss.
Worcester galloped 50 yards to paydirt to start the scoring. Kyle Basil booted the first of his eight straight extra point kicks to make it 7-0.
A five-yard TD run by Worcester and a Basil PAT doubled the lead to 14-0.
Gavin Bogart scored on a one-yard plunge to advance the margin to 21-0 after one period of play.
Braeden Jordan pulled down a three-yard TD reception from Garret Bogart as the Pirates stretched their lead to 28-0.
Gavin Bogart’s eight-yard scoring jaunt ballooned the margin to 35-0 at intermission.
Worcester scored his third TD on a 12-yard run in the third stanza to extend the cushion to 42-0.
Parker Lovell then tallied TD runs of 65 and 20 yards in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin of 56 points.
Notes and stats
Bluffton rolled up 448 yards of total offense on 40 plays (11.2 yards per play).
The Pirate defense limited the Bearcats to just 113 yards on 39 snaps (2.9 avg.).
Bluffton amassed a whopping 414 yards rushing on 31 carries (13.4 avg.). The Pirates passed for 34 yards.
Spencerville gained 93 aerial yards on 10 of 14 passing, and the Bearcats netted just 20 yards rushing on 23 carries.
Lovell netted 85 yards rushing on two carries with a pair of TDs. Gavin Bogart tallied two TDs on four carries that netted him 72 yards.
Griffin Stackhouse added 62 yards on four runs. Noah Bricker had 16 yards on one carry.
Garret Bogart completed three of five passes for 34 yards and one TD.
Jordan caught two passes for 22 yards and one score. Gavin Bogart added a 12-yard reception.
Jordan led the defense with five tackles, while Buddy Thebeau recovered a Bearcat fumble. The stingy Pirate defense came up with six tackles for loss and one sack.
The Pirates converted one of two third down attempts. The Bearcats were successful on just two of 10 third down tries.
Spencerville committed one turnover on a fumble, while the Pirates made no miscues. Bluffton was called for four penalties totaling 41 yards. The Bearcats committed a pair of penalties costing them 10 yards.
Bluffton remained first in the 27-team Div. VI, Region 22 computer ratings after the convincing win.
1 2 3 4 F
Blu 21 14 7 14 56
Svill 0 0 0 0 0
Bluffton (3-0 home, 2-0 road) plays at Northwest Conference rival Ada next Friday.
The Bulldogs (2-3, 0-2 NWC) lost at home in week five to another league unbeaten, Leipsic, by a 55-24 score. The Bulldogs trailed only 28-24 late in the third period before the big-play Vikings reeled off the final 27 points to win going away.
The Pirates beat Ada 31-7 last year at Harmon Field in a game that was close for the first half.
The dominating Pirates have outscored their opponents 231-28 in five games so far, an average of 46.2 points per game to 5.6 ppg.
Ada has allowed 190 points and scored 125 in five games. The Bulldogs beat rival USV in the season opener 24-22, and defeated Buckeye Central 41-25.
The Bulldogs have lost their last two games, both NWC contests, by a combined total of 102-33. Shifty Ada junior quarterback Levi Green is a top runner, as is senior tailback Jalee Bolden.
