LEES CREEK — The final game of the Brandon Sammons era of Blanchester football ended much the way the previous four games had: with a lopsided Blanchester victory.
The Wildcats sent their head coach out with an outright SBAAC National Division championship with a 53-6 victory over East Clinton.
Sammons told the News Journal this week that he was not returning as head coach of the Wildcats in 2019.
While Sammons had not officially resigned the position, he said after the game, “It’s not official yet, but it will be.”
After a mostly scoreless first quarter, Blanchester erupted with 21 points in 3:46. Brayden Sipple threw five first-half touchdown passes, giving him a school-record for TD passes in a season with 23.
Three of those touchdowns went to Clayton Schirmer, who passed Quenton Miller as the single-season receiving touchdown record holder at BHS. Miller had nine in 2016.
“We knew that Schirmer had some goals in front of him,” Sammons said. “That was part of our game plan, but then the weather … I didn’t think we were going to be able to do it. That kid poured his heart and soul into the season. To be able to put his name at the top of a list in a record book is awesome.”
East Clinton finished the season 0-10 overall and 0-5 in the SBC. It was the 13th consecutive loss for the Astros.
Despite the loss, interim EC head coach Mark Scovanner was pleased with the effort from his team.
“I thought this was a continuation of our effort the past two or three weeks,” Scovanner said. “I thought our interior played well. I thought our seniors really gave a spark to the rest of the team. We got a few stops on defense, but then we made some mental mistakes, which has been the hallmark of the entire season.”
Scovanner, who took over when Jeremy Yankey resigned, would like a chance to remove the interim from his title.
“Whenever they open it up to be the head coach, I’m definitely going to put in for it,” Scovanner said. “Hopefully I’ll get a chance to be the head coach here. I think I can help turn it around and do good things. I think I’m the guy to do it.”
Sammons was 17-14 in three seasons in Blanchester. He won two SBAAC championships and led the Wildcats to the playoffs in 2016.
“You always want to go out on top,” Sammons said. “You want to be seen as being the best at something. We were the best in our division. There’s no question about it.
“The one thing left is to see these kids get the recognition they deserve. The kids finished hard. They didn’t give up. They want more. That’s a good feeling”
SUMMARY
Oct. 26, 2018
@East Clinton High School
Blanchester 53, East Clinton 6
B 14.20.06.13…..53
E 00.00.06.00…..6
1st Quarter
B – Brayden Sipple 25-yard pass to Derick Bowman (Jasper Damewood kick) 2:00
B – Sipple 3-yard pass to Clayton Schirmer (Damewood kick) 12.3
2nd Quarter
B – Sipple 5-yard pass to Schirmer (Damewood kick) 11:14
B – Sipple 5-yard pass to Brent Hopkins (Damewood kick) 7:47
B – Sipple 17-yard pass to Schirmer (kick blocked) 2:21
3rd Quarter
B – Dale Sturgill 18-yard run (kick failed) 4:38
E – Tristan Burkitt 85-yard kickoff return (run failed) 4:06
4th Quarter
B – Junior Torres 2-yard run (kick blocked) 9:57
B – James Peters 8-yard run (Damewood kick) 4:58
TEAM STATS
PLAYS: B 55; EC 43. FIRST DOWNS: B 28; EC 6. RUSHES-YARDS: B 38-307; EC 30-79. PASSING YARDS: B 130; EC 7. COMPLETIONS-ATTEMPTS-INTERCEPTIONS: B 11-17-1; EC 1-13-2. TOTAL YARDS: B 437; EC 86. PENALTIES-YARDS: B 6-50; EC 3-35. FUMBLES-LOST: B 3-1; EC 1-0.
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing (carries-yards): B Brent Hopkins 4-26; Junior Torres 2-41 TD; Dale Sturgill 3-29 TD; Destin Ashcraft 11-80; James Peters 16-137 TD. EC Jared Smith 13-38; Kaleb Kingery 2-8; Todd Wedding 14-48.
Passing (completions-attempts-interceptions): B Sipple 11-17-2 130 yards 5 TDs. EC J. Smith 1-13-2 7 yards.
Receiving (catches-yards): B Hopkins 1-5 TD; Derick Bowman 1-25 TD; Jacksson Waialae 2-11; Clayton Schirmer 5-60 3 TDs; Ashcraft 2-29. EC Branson Smith 1-7.
