By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON – In the most anticipated league game of the Northwest Conference season between unbeaten rivals, Bluffton lost its title showdown 42-0 to the potent Columbus Grove run game and stingy defense at Harmon Field Friday, October 25.

The visiting Bulldogs dominated to seize the outright league championship in a surprisingly lopsided regular season finale on a cool evening.

The Pirates trailed 28-0 at halftime as CG scored touchdowns on their first four possessions.

The Pirates fell to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the NWC with the defeat. 

Defending league co-champion Columbus Grove improved to 10-0 overall and won the NWC title outright at 7-0 after the big win.  

Grove drove 66 yards to paydirt on the game’s opening drive to go ahead early. A spinning run by CG senior running back Trenton Barraza reached the Pirate two.

Barraza then bulled into the end zone from two yards out with 8:04 to go in the first period. The extra point by Evan Verhoff made it 7-0.

Grove took over on the Pirate 39 after a quick three and out series. 

Barraza immediately broke a 38-yard run to the left before being knocked out of bounds at the Pirate one. His ensuing one-yard TD run made it 14-0 with 7:09 still left in the opening stanza.

The stingy Grove defense then forced another quick Pirate possession and punt, and the visitors took possession on their own 40. Barraza burst seven and 12 yards to the Pirate 41.

Grant Eversole broke two tackles to his left for a 20-yard run to the Pirate 21. He then weaved right for seven more yards.

Barraza made a nice cut left and scampered 14 yards to paydirt for his third rushing TD in the first period with 1:38 left. The third Verhoff PAT extended the lead to 21-0, stunning the standing room only crowd into silence.

CG marched 61 yards to the end zone on their first possession of the second quarter.

Barraza juked his way 28 yards to the Pirate 14 to spark the march. On third and seven, Grove handed off to Barraza and he quickly gave it to Eversole on an inside reverse. 

The quick and feisty senior back ran right, broke a tackle and muscled 11 yards to the end zone to extend the margin to 28-0 with 8:05 still left in the half.

Bluffton crossed midfield for the first time all game. But an overthrown pass was picked off by Gavin Barraza at the 29 and returned to the 41. It was his fifth pick of the season.

Pirate senior Landen Worcester came up with a big sack for a loss of nine. The Bluffton defense forced the first Bulldog punt in five possessions to keep the score 28-0 at halftime.

Midway through the third period, Bluffton’s Noah Bricker hauled in a slant pass midway to reach the Pirate 35. However, on the next play Tayte Giesige fumbled in the backfield and CG recovered at the Bluffton 31.

On the very next play, the Bulldogs struck with a sudden change attack. Senior QB Kyle Hopkins lofted a pass over the middle to wide-open tight end Brady Basinger for a 31-yard TD with 4:03 left in the third period. The extra point made it 35-0.

Pirate signal-caller Giesige had a second pass picked off near the right sideline at the end of the third period by Eversole. 

A long Eversole run reached the Pirate 41. On the next play, Barraza made a nice little cutback and sprinted 41 yards virtually untouched to paydirt.

The extra point made the margin 42-0 with 10:23 remaining.

1 2 3 4 F

Bluf 0 0 0 0 0

CG 21 7 7 7 42

Notes and stats

Bluffton still leads the all-time series between the rivals, 50-42-2. But Grove has won the last eight meetings. Bluffton’s last win at home vs. CG came back in 2012.

Bluffton was limited to 154 yards in total offense on 49 plays (3.1 yards average). The Bulldogs amassed 354 yards on 47 snaps (7.5 avg.) against the Pirate defense.  

The Pirates netted just 66 rushing yards on 24 carries and passed for 88 yards. The Bluffton offense averaged 2.8 yards per rush. 

CG netted 309 yards on the ground on 37 attempts (8.4 avg.). The Bulldogs amassed just 45 yards through the air as Hopkins completed three of six attempts with one TD.

The Pirates compiled seven first downs, while Grove moved the chains 15 times.

Giesige ran for 26 yards on six carries. He completed nine of 19 passes for 88 yards with two interceptions. He has thrown just three picks all season.

Senior Worcester caught four passes for 24 yards. Quinn Eachus snared three aerials for 43 yards, including a long reception of 26 yards. Bricker made one 16-yard grab.

Barraza rushed for over 200 yards and four TDs. Eversole also ran for a score and had over 50 yards rushing.

Javen Crawfis made five solo tackles and had five assists. Worcester was in on eight tackles, including a big sack and three solo stops. Carson Kruse was in on eight tackles, including seven assists.

The Pirates committed five penalties for 37 yards, while CG was flagged three times for 25 yards. 

Bluffton was successful on three of nine third down tries, and went 0-2 on fourth down. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs converted three of eight tries on third down, and they went 2-3 on fourth.

The Pirates committed three turnovers on two picks and a fumble. CG made no miscues.

Bluffton is now 4-1 at home, while CG improved to 5-0 on the road. The Pirates have won 14 NWC titles, while Grove increased its total to 17 titles captured.

The Bulldogs have outscored their opposition 441-107 through 10 games for an average margin of 44.1 ppg-10.7 ppg.

The Pirates have won 21 of their past 24 games. All three losses in that span were at the hands of Grove.

Pirates to host Paulding again in 1st round
Despite the loss, Bluffton stayed second in the Div. VI, Region 22 computer rankings. They trailed only first-place Hopewell-Loudon ( 9-0). 

If the unofficial computer rankings hold, the Pirates will host former NWC foe Paulding (7-3) for the second year in a row in the first round of the Region 22 playoffs next weekend. The Panthers are ranked 15th.

Their only common opponent this season is Delphos Jefferson. The Panthers beat DJ 27-2 in week three, and Bluffton whipped the Wildcats the very next week by a 52-7 count.

Paulding won its first five games of the season, then lost three of their next four by a combined total of 17 points. Their three losses came to teams with a combined 21-9 record.

The Panthers average 34.7 ppg and allow 12.0 ppg. The Pirates have outscored their opposition by a 424-101 margin over 10 games this season (42.4 ppg to 10.1 ppg). 

Last year, the Pirates mauled the Panthers 63-6 in the first playoff round at Harmon Field. This year’s meeting looks to be more competitive.