Bluffton capitalizes on 5 Wynford turnovers

By Cort Reynolds

The rugged Bluffton High School defense posted its eighth shutout of the season, and the offense was sharp as the Pirates rolled to a 38-0 win against a visiting, overmatched Wynford squad at Harmon Field Friday night, November 3, in a Div. VI, Region 22 football playoff mismatch.

The Royals committed five costly turnovers, and the Pirates capitalized to win their second round bout going away.

Bluffton improved to 11-1 with the one-sided victory. Wynford ends its season 7-5 after the decisive shutout loss.

The #2 seed Pirates will play Ottawa Hills (11-1) next Friday in the region 22 semifinals at a site TBA, possibly Findlay. 

The #6 seed Green Bears went on the road and upset #3 seed Colonel Crawford 28-21 in their second round bout Friday.

“Our defense did a great job of bending and not breaking,” said Pirate head coach Jeff Richards. “When we were able to force turnovers the offense did a good job of capitalizing.

“It was a good, physical team win,” he added. (Continues)

The stingy Bluffton defense stopped the first Royal possession quickly. Pirate Braeden Jordan returned the ensuing punt 45 yards up the right sideline before being yanked down by the jersey out of bounds at the Wynford 12.

On the very first Pirate play from scrimmage, Gavin Bogart surveyed his way around the left end and scurried just past the left front pylon of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown run. 

Kyle Basil’s point after boot gave the hosts a 7-0 lead just 1:50 into the contest.

A solid return on the following kickoff gave Wynford possession at their own 34. An 18-yard run by Anthony Evans started the drive promisingly. But two plays later, quarterback Ashton Warren’s pass was intercepted by Quinn Eachus, and he returned it to the Pirate 41.

Three plays later on third and two, Bluffton struck quickly again. Junior running back Landen Worcester burst through the line and outran the Royal defense 51 yards to paydirt with 7:19 still left in the opening stanza.

Basil’s second PAT kick made it 14-0 Pirates as the three-play drive covered 59 yards in just 66 seconds.

A tackle for a five-yard loss by Bogart on the next Wynford possession brought up third and 13. But a pass interference call gave the visitors first down. Later on fourth and two, Warren kept the ball and made the necessary two yards.

On the first play of the second period, Wynford fumbled and tackle Marco Eiden recovered for the Pirates at their own 20 to thwart the drive.

Bluffton was forced to punt and Gabe Meza’s kick rolled dead after 52 yards at the BW 19. The Royals embarked on a lengthy 8:24 march that covered 77 yards before another costly turnover meant they came away empty again.

Warren again converted a short QB sneak to keep the sticks moving on fourth and one near midfield. A screen pass to Kaiden Blair turned briefly into a 19-yard TD, but the score was negated by a holding flag inside the 10.

On third and three at the Pirate four with just 29 seconds left in the half, Warren rolled right and threw the ball two yards deep into the end zone but right into the hands of anticipating Eachus, and the Pirates ran out the final 21 seconds to lead 14-0 at halftime.

“Quinn has an amazing ability for reading the field and making great plays,” said Richards. “It was a big play.”

So despite two good drives in the second period, Wynford had nothing to show for it due in part to a fumble and interception and timely Bluffton defense.

“Big plays right before halftime are huge for momentum,” Richards noted. 

The opportunistic Pirates took the second half kickoff and marched 62 yards to score again. Worcester made a nice cutback run on third and one for eight yards to keep the chains moving.

Garret Bogart rolled right and connected with Jordan for a 20-yard reception. On third and five, Worcester again came through by breaking a tackle en route to a nine-yard rumble to the Royal 16.

Grifin Stackhouse then sped around left end and weaved his way untouched to paydirt for a 16-yard TD run. The 10-play march took 3:59 off the clock, and the Basil extra point extended the lead to 21-0.

The teams traded quick three and out possessions, capped by a shanked 15-yard punt that gave Wynford the ball at its own 38 with 4:29 left in the quarter. 

Pirate Carson Kruse recovered a fumble in the Royal backfield and ran it all the way to the one before being hauled down. On the next play, Worcester bounced his way in off right tackle at the 4:08 mark.

Basil’s PAT kick stretched the margin to 28-0.

A dropped pass on the next Wynford drive helped bring up fourth and six from the Royal 37. The desperate visitors went for it but Warren’s pass was errant and picked off by Gavin Bogart to give Bluffton great field position at the Wynford 46.

A reverse to Stackhouse picked up 11 yards. He then ripped off an 18-yard scamper to the 25. A right side slant to Jordan just over the goal line from Garret Bogart ballooned the lead to 34-0 at the 1:42 juncture.

After another Basil PAT kick, the Pirates led by 35 to start the running clock.

Wynford put together a decent drive as the third period ended. Hayden Dearth sacked Warren from behind to bring up fourth and seven. Warren’s fourth down pass fell short to turn it over on downs at the Royal 37.

With just over three minutes remaining to play, Basil closed the scoring by drilling a 33-yard field goal to provide the final margin of 38-0.

The Pirates have outscored their opponents by a margin of 484-48 this season (40.3-4.0 ppg). 

Their next playoff opponent, explosive Ottawa Hills averages 44.4 ppg, and allow 9.8 ppg. The only Green Bear loss came to Ottawa Lake-Whiteford of Michigan in week four, 26-21. 

Since then Ottawa Hills has reeled off eight wins in a row, allowing just 72 total points. They beat Margaretta 42-7 in round one of the playoffs. In an odd statistical quirk, in seven of their 11 wins OH has allowed exactly seven points.

“We need to continue getting better,” said Richards. 

1 2 3 4 F

Wyn 0 0 0 0 0

Blf 14 0 21 3 38