BLANCHESTER — A six-minute stretch of the second quarter helped propel New Richmond to a 35-7 victory over Blanchester Friday night at Barbour Memorial Field.
The two teams were tied at 7 with 6:44 left in the second quarter. With Blanchester facing a fourth and nine from the New Richmond 47, Tristan Greene’s punt was blocked.
New Richmond returned it to the Blanchester 26. Two plays later, TJ Gelter scored on a 17-yard touchdown run. The Lions led 14-7 with 6:11 left in the half.
Blanchester (2-3) tried to answer, driving to the New Richmond 20. However, Blanchester went four and out from the 20, giving the Lions the ball at their own 25 with 4:03 left.
What followed was a back-breaking 12-play, 75-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion and two third down conversions. Anderson ended the drive with a nine-yard TD pass to Gage Kramer. New Richmond led 21-7 at the half after a game-changing six-minute stretch.
“It was huge,” BHS Head Coach Brandon Sammons said. “It pretty much set the tone. Our guys fell behind and I think they let it get to them psychologically.”
Blanchester started with the ball to start the third quarter, but managed just one first down before Greene’s pass was intercepted by Ethan Gundler. The NR defensive back returned it 55 yards to the Blan 10.
Two plays later, Anderson found a sliding Corey Bozic in the end zone. The Lions led 28-7 less than three minutes into the third quarter.
“That’s what a good football team does,” Sammons said. “They come out and know how to fix things. The ball bounced their way a few times and we made some mistakes. We’ve got to catch a ball when it hits us right in the hands.”
A few Blanchester drives were ended because of dropped passes or deflected balls that ended up in the hands of a defender. Greene completed just 12 of 33 passes for 102 yards and four interceptions.
Despite running seven fewer plays, New Richmond had seven more first downs than Blanchester and 151 more total yards.
Blanchester will open National Division play next week on homecoming night against Clermont Northeastern.
SUMMARY
Sept. 23, 2016
@Barbour Memorial Field, Blanchester, Ohio
New Richmond 35, Blanchester 7
N 07.14.14.00…..35
B 00.07.00.00…..7
1st Quarter
N – Josh Anderson 13-yard run (Chris Dixon kick) 5:39
2nd Quarter
B – Tristan Greene 40-yard pass to Brent Hopkins (Dakota Penquite kick) 8:58
N – TJ Gelter 17-yard run (Dixon kick) 6:11
N – Anderson 8-yard pass to Gage Kramer (Dixon kick) 28.1
3rd Quarter
N – Anderson 10-yard pass to Corey Bozic (Dixon kick) 9:41
N – Anderson 32-yard run (Dixon kick) 1:55
4th Quarter
No scoring
Team Stats: PLAYS: N 63; B 70. FIRST DOWNS: N 20; B 13. RUSHES-YARDS: N 33-173; B 37-84. PASSING YARDS: N 164; B 102. COMPLETIONS-ATTEMPTS-INTERCEPTIONS: N 18-29-1; B 12-33-4. TOTAL YARDS: N 337; B 186. PENALTIES-YARDS: N 5-50; B 4-30. FUMBLES-LOST: N 4-4; B 0-0.
Individual Stats
Rushing (carries-yards): N Josh Anderson 10-89 2 TDs; TJ Gelter 16-64 TD; Mitchell Williamson 6-24. B Tristan Greene 22-61; Hunter Collier 12-19.
Passing (completions-attempts-interceptions): N Anderson 16-27-1. B Greene 12-33-4.
Receiving (catches-yards): N Jessup Durbin 2-11; Gage Kramer 5-46 TD; Gelter 2-28; Chandler Kinhalt 3-24; Corey Bozic 3-30 TD. B Nick Hopkins 2-9; Quenton Miller 1-6; Jared Monhollen 3-25; Brent Hopkins 2-45 TD; Hunter Collier 2-14.
