Game Report- Hamilton Township 21 Groveport 14

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Hamilton Township 21 Groveport 14
This game was played at Fortress Stadium, the home of the Ohio Machine, the defending professional Lacrosse champion.
This was my first visit here and the only bad part was seating was so far away from the field.
The game featured two evenly matched teams, who are but a few miles apart, but had no played against each other, in more than fifty years.
Known more as a runner and not a passer,Zavion Cunningham of the Rangers connected with Alex Mathias, on a pass play that gained 28-yards, with just :18 gone in the game. Cunningham was wide opened and had to adjust to a ball that was hurt by the wing, that blew all night long. The drive quickly died shortly after the big play.

With 6:37 left in the opening quarter Crusaders running back,Emmanuel Anthony had a nice run, but coughed the ball up, for the 2nd time on the drive and making the recovery for the Rangers was Christopher Green. Early on there was three fumbles, but only one resulted in the defense making the recovery.

Eric Bonte would be shoved back for a short loss, when he was taken down hard by,Jasiyah Robinson and Darrell Smoot ,with 4:56 left in the quarter.

Defense continued to be the master in this one and with 3:34 showing on the clock,Colin Kerns for a short loss and forced the Crusaders into a 3rd and 16 situation, with 3:24 showing on the clock. A punt would follow soon after and on the punt a bad snap caused the punter #49 Either Pacho to be tackled by five Rangers, at the 2:20 mark of the quarter.

The Rangers got a nice 18-yard run by Drysten Crallie, with 2:13 left in the quick but ugly opening quarter. The drive did little after this play and the quarter ended with this one still scoreless.

Just four seconds gone in the 2nd quarter, the Crusaders put the ball on the turf and making the recovery for the Rangers was Brad Maynard. From there the Rangers needed just two plays to go the 32-yards needed to get the game's first score. The scoring play was a fine run by James Fulton, that went for 21-yards and came to be with some nice blocking a sweet little move by Fulton. The point after kick by,#17 Jeremy Lannom made this a 7-0 Rangers lead.

Facing a third and sixteen, the Crusaders were able to get the first down on a nice pass by,Kerns to Austin Snyder, with 9:29 left in the half. With 8:26 left Kerns was stopped for a short loss by, Mason Seymore a 5-7 292 pound lineman.

The Rangers offense would show some life when,Cunningham opted to run and picked up close to 40-yards, at the 6:36 mark of the quarter. The drive would come to an abrupt end when,Cunningham coughed up the ball and making the recovery for Groveport was,Tyss Harris, a 6-0 165 pound defensive back, with 3:34 left in the half.

Another good defensive play by the Rangers took place, a the 2:53 mark of the quarter, this time it came from #31 Denny Malcolm, a 6-1 195 pound freshman. He would get Kerns for a short loss. The teams headed to the locker rooms, with the Rangers leading 7-0.

The third quarter, clock read 7:19 and the Crusaders were running their fifth play of the third quarter and on the play Kerns connected with #14 Jaylin Chaney, for a 10-yard touchdown. The point after by strong footed Luis Hernandez locked this game up at seven apiece.

Jasiyah Robinson would get to Cunningham for a 5-yard loss, with 5:38 left in the period. From there the defense would get the ball back to its offense and then watch them go to work.

This looked good for Groveport when,Kerns threw a screen pass to,Elyjah Aekins for a 19-yard gain. with 4:15 left. The drive ended at the 3:23 mark when, Kerns hit Chaney for a touchdown pass from about 19-yards out. The point after gave the Crusaders a 14-7 lead.

Ricco Collins-Hayes, the 5-10,165 pound defensive back would get to Fulton for a 2-yaard loss, with 1:07 left in the third quarter.
With :21 left and facing a 3rd and 12, the Rangers got a 10-yard run from Cunningham, to set up a 4th and two, with time running out in the quarter. Bonte would use his powerful legs and some sweet work from the big guys up front to move the chains.

Bonte would take the ball 10-yards down to the Groveport two-yard-line, with 11:13 left in the game. From there Bonte would take it the rest of the way for the score, with 10:19 left. The point after kick locked this one at 14 apiece. The hold was by Fulton and the kick was by Lannom.

Big bad Wayne Blackshear would powerfully pick up 19-yards as he drug a couple of players downfield before finally going down. Blackshear looked like a player capable of playing both ways and being dominate, both way.The Rangers looked to have a sack from Raymon Patten on Kerns, but a defensive hold took that off of the board, with a little under nine minutes left in the contest.

With 3:53 left Christopher Green would recover another Groveport fumble. The Hamilton Township offense would fumble the ball twice on the ensuing drive, but luck was on their side, as they recovered both of them. Then with :29 seconds left in the game the Rangers would fumble the ball again and this time the Crusaders would come up with it.

On the first offensive play of the Crusaders drive Kerns would be picked off by THE NEWARK CATHOLIC FAN PLAYER OF THE GAME,Trent Salters, with :20 left. The Rangers would score the game winner, with :15 seconds left when, Bonte powered his way in from 5-yards out. The point after gave us a 21-14 Rangers win.

UNOFFICIAL STATS
GROVEPORT
70 PLAYS
310 YARDS
PASSING 19-33 2 TD'S 1 INT

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP
67 PLAYS
253 YARDS
PASSING 6-11

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