OWENSVILLE — East Clinton dominated all three phases of the football game Friday night as the Astros dominated Clermont Northeastern 45-7.
The Astros (5-4 overall, 2-2 SBC National) led 13-0 before they ran their second offensive play from scrimmage.
The first play from scrimmage followed a CNE three-and-out. Jared Smith kept the ball and ran 80 yards for a touchdown. EC led 6-0.
After another Rocket drive ended without a first down, CNE punted. It was Smith once again, this time as the punt returner, who took it to the house. His 74-yard return gave EC a 13-0 lead, and the Astros never looked back.
“They responded really well after last week,” EC head coach Steve Olds said. “We’re proud of them. We played well.”
Clermont Northeastern narrowly avoided the shutout thanks to a 51-yard pass from Jake Mott to Grant Brown that set up an Andrew McIntosh touchdown with 34.3 left.
Up until that point, CNE had only entered Astro territory twice and got no closer to the East Clinton end zone than the 29.
Meanwhile, the EC starting offense punted only once. The Astros rushed for 362 yards on 36 carries.
Two Astros reached triple digits in yards rushing. Smith finished with 177 yards and two touchdowns, and Glenn Peacock had 100 yards on just nine carries and two touchdowns.
Isaiah Conger added 78 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. The three primary ball carriers rushed for 355 yards on 32 carries, scoring five touchdowns.
“We got a lot of guys involved,” Olds said. “I know everybody got in the game so I’m happy about that. All three backs ran hard. The line played well. I thought we did everything we wanted to do.”
Clermont Northeastern (2-6 overall, 0-4 SBC) was 0 for 8 on third downs and 0 for 4 on fourth downs. The Rockets ran the same number of offensive plays as the Astros (39) but gained just 144 yards total and just 45 on the ground.
Take away two Clermont Northeastern completions which combined for 83 yards, and the Rockets gained just 61 yards on the other 37 offensive plays and just three first downs.
While the playoffs don’t officially start for two weeks, it feels like a playoff game next Friday at Blanchester. The Wildcats and Astros entered week 9 right around the final spot to qualify for the playoffs.
The top 16 teams in Region 20 will qualify, so the winner next week will feel much better about punching its ticket to week 11.
“It’s hard not to look at the points a little bit,” Olds said. “I think it’s obvious whoever wins next Friday is going to be in, and the team that doesn’t is going to have to get help. The best thing to do would be to go out to Blanchester next week and win the game.
“But it’s going to be hard. Blan’s got a tough team. Coach Mulvihill does a good job with his guys. We’re going to have to have a good week of preparation. We’re going to go down there and let it all hang out and see what happens.”
SUMMARY
Friday, Oct. 15, 2021
At Clermont Northeastern High School
East Clinton 45, Clermont Northeastern 7
EC^13^12^7^13^^45
CNE^0^0^0^7^^7
1st Quarter
EC – Jared Smith 80-yard run (kick failed) 10:29
EC – Smith 74-yard punt return (Lukas Runk kick) 7:47
2nd Quarter
EC – Smith 10-yard run (kick failed) 9:19
EC – Brody Fisher 3-yard run (pass failed) 47.1
3rd Quarter
EC – Isaiah Conger 5-yard run (Runk kick) 9:14
4th Quarter
EC – Glenn Peacock 1-yard run (Runk kick) 11:44
EC – Peacock 33-yard run (pass failed) 10:34
C – Andrew McIntosh 1-yard run (Connor Yeager kick) 34.3
TEAM STATS
PLAYS: EC 39; C 39. FIRST DOWNS: EC 18; C 5. RUSHING-YARDS: EC 36-362; C 28-45. PASSING YARDS: EC 3; C 99. COMPLETIONS-ATTEMPTS-INTERCEPTIONS: EC 2-3-0; C 5-11-1. TOTAL YARDS: EC 365; C 144. PENALTIES-YARDS: EC 5-40; C 1-5. FUMBLES-LOST: EC 0-0; C 3-1.
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing (carries-yards): EC Jared Smith 10-177 2 TDs; Glenn Peacock 9-100 2 TDs; Isaiah Conger 13-78 TD; Maddix Crowe 3-4; Brody Fisher 1-3 TD. C Jake Mott 10-41; Andrew McIntosh 6-13 TD; Carter Corey 4-2; CJ Boothby 1-(-7); Josh Grober 5-(-10).
Receiving (catches-yards): EC Jacob Burkitt 1-6; Glenn Peacock 1-(-3). C Grant Brown 1-51; Mitchel Braden 1-32; Andrew McIntosh 2-8; CJ Boothby 1-8.
Passing (completions-attempts-interceptions): EC Jared Smith 2-3-0 3 yards. C Jake Mott 3-4-0- 91 yards; Josh Groeber 2-6-1 8 yards.
