BETHEL — Bethel-Tate pitched a second-half shutout, overcoming two turnovers, to down Blanchester 25-16 in a Southern Buckeye Conference National Division showdown Friday.
The Tigers (3-1, 3-0) led 19-16 at halftime and made its lone second-half score hold up, a back-breaking 16-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-goal in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
Blanchester (3-1, 2-1) failed to chip away at the Tigers’ advantage after that thanks to a fumble, several fruitless drives and a five-minute Bethel-Tate drive late in the fourth quarter that yielded zero points but chewed valuable clock.
Scoring came in bunches in the first half.
The Tigers struck first with a Logan Owens 3-yard plunge at the 4:41 mark of the first quarter.
Blan answered on the ensuing drive when Brayden Sipple executed a beautiful play-action fake and hit Brody Rice in stride for a 23-yard TD pass.
BT answered likewise on its next drive with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Carter.
The Tigers led 13-7 after a quarter.
Blanchester got a safety off a bad BT snap through the back of the end zone at the 7:42 mark of the second quarter and a Colt Conover 6-yard TD run off a direct snap four minutes later to lead 16-13.
Again, Bethel-Tate answered to retake the lead, 19-16. It marched down the field after the Conover score, mostly on the legs of Mikey Molloy who capped the drive with a 6-yard TD run.
SUMMARY
Sept 18, 2020
@Bethel-Tate High School
Bethel-Tate 25, Blanchester 16
BL^7^9^0^0^^16
BE^13^6^0^7^^25