Pirates' first-half enough to stop Barons

[clecinosu]

Cardington-Lincoln 22, Delaware Buckeye Valley 14

CARDINGTON -- The Cardington Pirates dominated the first half using a balanced attack, but had to hold on in the second to defeat the Buckeye Valley Barons 22-14 in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action Friday at Merle Fisher Field in Cardington.

Cardington (4-5, 3-5) gained 214 yards of total offense in the first half, 110 on the ground and 104 through the air, held the Buckeye Valley (3-6, 3-5) offense to just 85 yards and ran out to a 16-0 halftime lead before the Barons made their run in the second half.

Cardington drove to the Baron 10 on their first drive only to turn the ball over on downs, but broke the scoreless tie on their second drive, set up by a 36-yard pass from Kyle Johnson to Matt Williamson to the Buckeye Valley 13-yard line -- one in which Johnson escaped four Buckeye Valley tacklers before getting the pass off.

Keith Cornell ended the drive with a 22-yard field goal with 51 seconds to play in the opening quarter.

Cardington scored again on their first drive of the second quarter. Shane Ames' 35-yard run put the ball in Buckeye Valley territory, and two plays later Aaron Landis carried the ball 30 yards for the score with 9:39 to play in the half.

Cardington had another chance to score later in the period, but Cornell's 45-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright. Buckeye Valley took the ball at their own 20, but fumbled the ball away three plays later. Landis recovered at the Baron 28, and Johnson hit Tyson Rogers in the left side on the end zone on the first play after the fumble, giving the Pirates their 16-0 halftime edge.

But Buckeye Valley came out firing in the third quarter. The Barons went away from their traditional I-formation, choosing instead to split the backs. The Barons ran and passed well out the formation, using 11 plays to move 56 yards. Colt Brownstead carried over from five yards out to put the Barons on the scoreboard and cut the deficit to 10 points.

The Barons had a golden opportunity to trim the deficit even more after BV's Steve Morden recovered an Ames fumble at the Pirate 36, but with fourth-and-five at the Cardington 16, Nathan Roberts' pass attempt to Adam Hall fell incomplete.

Two plays after the failed Buckeye Valley drive, Landis showed his speed, carrying around left end 82 yards for the final Cardington touchdown, one that would effectively decide the game.

On their final possession of the third quarter, Buckeye Valley turned the ball over again as Roberts was intercepted by Rogers at the Pirate 28 as the clock wound to zero. But the Barons would not give up.

The Barons stopped the ensuing Pirate drive and took over at their own 20 after a 42-yard Cornell punt that went into the end zone for a touchback. Fourteen plays later, the Barons cut the Cardington lead to eight when Kyle Rehner scored from four yards out and Roberts followed by carrying over the two-point conversion.

Buckeye Valley then set up for the onside kick. Jeremy Tiller bounced the kick to the Baron 47, where a Cardington defender trying to grab the ball before it went 10 yards, mishandled the pigskin. A Buckeye Valley player fell on the ball, giving the Barons a chance to try for the tie.

Four plays netted the Barons only five yards, however, and after a two-yard completion from Roberts to Brownstead, Cardington took over at their own 48. The Pirates moved the ball to the Baron 16, then killed off the remaining clock for the win.

Landis had an outstanding game for the Pirates, carrying 14 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns while adding a game-high 17 tackles, 14 unassisted, on defense. Ames also carried 18 times for 69 yards.

Johnson completed 4-of-10 passes for 104 yards, all in the first half, while Ames threw one halfback pass for 25 yards to Josh Mason, who lead all receivers with three catches for 65 yards. Matt Williamson has one catch for 36 yards and Tyson Rogers a 28-yard touchdown reception.

Brownstead led the Barons with nine carries for 73 yards while Rehner carried 16 times for 66 yards. Ryan Smart also carried nine times and gained 39 yards. Roberts completed 5-of-15 passes for 36 with one interception. Brownstead had three receptions for 15 yards, Adam Hall one catch for 13 and Morden one eight-yard reception.

Both teams close out their regular and MOAC seasons Friday night. Cardington visits Covrett Field in Sparta to face the Highland Fighting Scots, while Buckeye Valley goes to West Point to take on the Northmor Golden Knights. Kickoff at both sites is 7:30 p.m.

Buckeye Valley.......0.....0.....6.....8..........14
Cardington............3....13.....6.....0......... .22

SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
CARD - FG Keith Cornell 22, :51. (7 plays, 52 yards, TOP 3:34)
SECOND QUARTER
CARD - Aaron Landis 30 run (kick blocked), 9:39. (4 plays, 70 yards, TOP 0:57)
CARD - Tyson Rogers 28 pass from Kyle Johnson (Keith Cornell kick), 1:49. (1 play, 28 yards, TOP 0:06)
THIRD QUARTER
BV - Colt Brownstead 5 run (run failed), 7:25. (11 plays, 56 yards, TOP 4:35)
CARD - Aaron Landis 82 run (kick failed), :22. (2 plays, 84 yards, TOP 0:53)
FOURTH QUARTER
BV - Kyle Rehner 4 run (Nathan Roberts run), 3:42. (14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:33)

STATISTICS....................BV.......CARD
First Downs......................13...........13
Rushes-Yards.............47-210.....35-251
Passing Yards...................36..........129
Comp-Att-Int..............5-15-1......5-12-0
Total Offense..................246..........380
Punts-Avg...................3-25.7......2-36.5
Fumbles-Lost...................2-1..........4-1
Penalties-Yards................1-5........3-14
Possession Time...........25:30......22:30

RUSHING: Buckeye Valley - Colt Brownstead 9-73, Kyle Rehner 16-66, Ryan Smart 9-39, Nathan Roberts 9-20, Chris Hughes 4-12; Cardington - Aaron Landis 14-182, Shane Ames 18-69, Kyle Johnson 1-4, Team 2-minus 4.

PASSING: Buckeye Valley - Nathan Roberts 5-15-1-36; Cardington - Kyle Johnson 4-10-0-104, Shane Ames 1-1-0-25, Josh Mounts 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Buckeye Valley - Colt Brownstead 3-15, Adam Hall 1-13, Steve Morden 1-8; Cardington - Josh Mason 3-65, Matt Williamson 1-36, Tyson Rogers 1-28.

INTERCEPTIONS: Buckeye Valley - None; Cardington - Tyson Rogers 1-0.