Blue Lions score 35 unanswered points in win over Tigers

WASHINGTON C.H. — Thirty-five unanswered points scored by the host Washington Blue Lions resulted in the McClain Tigers dropping their second consecutive Frontier Athletic Conference game in Week 7, falling to the host team Washington by a 41-6 score. 

The homecoming game for the Blue Lions saw the game played close in the first quarter with 7:10 left in the opening frame, as each team scored six points. From that point on, the Blue Lions used screen passes, slant routes, and their defense played aggressively with pressure up front, which helped them score the next 35 points in the game while keeping the Tigers off the board following their first and only touchdown of the game. 

Washington struck first with a 64-yard screen pass completion from quarterback Sam Pfeifer to Aden Osborne for the touchdown and six points on the first play of the game. The PAT was no good for a 6-0 lead. Pfeifer finished the game 15-of-23 passing for 282 yards with four touchdown passes and one interception. He also had 11 carries for 58 yards, with a top carry of 27 yards. 

Later in the first for McClain, Hunter Peabody had an interception with 8:45 left in the first quarter, giving the Tigers possession, which they took advantage of. 

McClain came back with a touchdown of their own with Landen McNeal running to the left side of the field for a 3-yard score with 7:10 left in the first quarter. The Tigers went for a 2-point conversion, but it failed for a 6-6 score, as the Tigers’ kicker Ross Roman is injured. 

The TD drive for McClain began on the Washington 39-yard line, taking five plays to reach the endzone. 

Washington answered to take a 13-6 lead when they built a six-play drive, which included a 46-yard pass from Pfeifer to Champ Walters, setting up a first-and goal play from the MHS 3-yard line. Walters totaled eight receptions for 110 yards with one touchdown. 

Next was Osborne rushing the football for a 3-yard touchdown. Osborne ended the game with 64 yards rushing and a TD, plus he also caught four passes for 129 yards with two touchdowns. 

The PAT by Rithik Seng was good, giving Washington a seven-point lead with 4:13 left in the first quarter. 

The Blue Lions added another touchdown to their total with 10:22 left in the second quarter — a Pfeifer screen pass to Osborne for 58 yards, as he caught the screen pass, then cut inside the field and past the defense of MHS — extending their lead to 14 points at 20-6 as the score stood once halftime arrived. 

The ensuing drive, the Tigers put together a 10-play drive, which included a 22-yard run by Lovett, but also had a sack by Washington’s Kiontae Tyree (he totaled two sacks in the game). The drive ended with a turnover on downs by the Tigers as they were a yard short on a fourth-and-11 play from the Washington 12-yard line.  

Following a punt from their own endzone by the Blue Lions, the Tigers had good field position from the WHS 31-yard line. A second sack by Tyree for a 9-yard loss eventually led to a punt by MHS, as the second quarter saw no more points scored for a halftime score of 20-6 in favor of the Blue Lions. 

After halftime ended, WHS scored their fourth touchdown of the game in the third quarter with 9:11 on the clock when Pfeifer raced four yards for the score. Seng made another PAT for a 27-6 score. 

In the fourth quarter, the Blue Lions scored two more touchdowns as Pfeifer found Walters for a 6-yard touchdown with 9:38 on the fourth-quarter clock. The Blue Lions added one final touchdown when Pfeifer passed to J’vion Gatewood for a 12-yard touchdown, as he totaled three catches in the game for 43 yards. 

Seng converted the PAT, his fifth made in the game, for what was a final score of 41-6. 

The Tigers finished with 261 yards on offense, while Washington had 410 yards.

McClain was led in rushing by Lovett with 79 yards on 14 carries, with his best run going for 28 yards. Bentley Marsh followed with 59 yards on five carries with a top rush of 32 yards. Brady Binegar and Landon McNeal each had 11 yards rushing (McNeal scored the lone TD), and Hunter Peabody had one carry for six yards. 

Lovett also was 13-of-24 passing for 96 yards with one interception, with his top pass going for 28 yards. The top receiver for the Tigers was Gavin Anderson with five receptions for 51 yards, including a 28-yard catch. Peabody totaled four catches for 28 yards. 

Other receiving totals for the Tigers included Binegar (two receptions for 8 yards), Taitum Lyons (one reception for 5 yards) and Holden Lyons (one reception for 4 yards). 

Next for the Tigers (0-2, 3-3) is a home game against the Jackson Ironmen (1-1, 4-3) at 7 p.m. at McClain Field. Jackson defeated the Hillsboro Indians (0-2, 0-7) in Week 7 by a 69-21 score at JHS. 

Washington (2-0, 3-4) is scheduled to travel to Ross County next Friday in Week 8 to face the Chillicothe Cavaliers (1-1, 6-1). CHS lost to the Miami Trace Panthers (2-0, 6-1) by a 28-14 score. 

BOX SCORE
MHS    06 00 00 00 — 06
WHS    13 07 07 14 — 41