Football notebook: Columbus Grove moves to 3-0

Sep. 10—COLUMBUS GROVE — The “Pack of ‘Dogs” were hungry Friday.

The Columbus Grove public address announcer repeatedly used the moniker Friday to describe a defense that came up big early and often in a 27-13 win against area football powerhouse Patrick Henry in a non-league matchup.

Columbus Grove forced three first-quarter turnovers and converted them into touchdowns to jump out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. They finished with five takeaways in the game.

“We came with emotion, and the crowd was into it. The kids were into it,” Columbus Grove coach Andy Schafer said. “… This night, man, we were there right from the start.”

The fun started barely four minutes into the game for the Bulldogs (3-0), who begin Northwestern Conference play next week at Spencerville.

Columbus Grove’s Sam Groch, who also had a third-quarter touchdown when he dove on a blocked punt, tipped Patrick Henry quarterback Lincoln Creager’s pass straight up into the air. The 6-foot, 270-pound Mayes waited for it to come down before rumbling nearly 20 yards. Four plays later, Columbus Grove running back Trenton Barraza tallied a 10-yard touchdown after trying to go straight ahead before bouncing outside to the right for the early 7-0 lead.

After the ensuing kickoff, Patrick Henry (2-1) fumbled on its first play, with Grove’s Aiden Patrick picking up the ball and returning it to the 3. Two players later, Bulldog quarterback Landon Best ran it in from 1 yard and the early 14-0 lead.

Mayes wasn’t done, as he dove on a fumble near the end of the first quarter, giving Columbus Grove the ball at the 40 and his second takeaway of the quarter. A few plays later, Barraza — who said “Mayes went off today” — had his second TD of the day on a 27-yard sweep on the left side for a 21-0 lead with barely half a minute gone by in the second…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/football-notebook-columbus-grove-moves-233300219.html

Author : The Lima News, Ohio

Publish date : 2024-09-10 23:33:00

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