Barnesville too strong for Panthers on Alumni Night | News, Sports, Jobs

Mike Hughes ON THE RUN — Buckeye Local’s AJ McDiffitt looks for running space behind Koltn Roush’s primary blocking.

YORKVILLE — It took Barnesville a few minutes to get going offensively Friday at Yorkville, but once Trey Tolliver scored from 2 yards out in the first quarter, the ball quickly got going.

What was once a 7-0 game quickly turned into a rout as Barnesville scored 50 points in the first half, causing the clock to run out in the second half.

When the final horn sounded, the Shamrocks extended their regular-season winning streak to 30 games with a 57-7 victory over Buckeye Local on Alumni Night at World War II Memorial Stadium.

Tolliver’s touchdown came with less than eight minutes left in the first quarter, but two Shamrocks interceptions on Buckeyes quarterback AJ McDiffitt turned into quick points.

Casey Carpenter hit Bradey McIntire from four yards out on fourth down for the second touchdown, followed by a 2-yard run by Koby Jones after the second interception.

Thus, the visitors led 22-0 after the first match.

“Our defense put our offense in good positions, and we felt like we were playing on one side of the floor the entire first quarter.” Barnesville head coach Blake Allen said his team improved to 4-0. “We were able to capitalize on a few short pitches, take the lead early and keep the momentum going until halftime.”

The Shamrocks scored four more times in the second quarter, extending the lead to 50.

Carpenter found an open Cameron Carpenter on a pass play, and Carpenter carried it 70 yards to the house.

After forcing a Buckeye punt, Cameron Carpenter then caught a punt at his own 35 and took it 65 yards to paydirt.

Casey Carpenter found McIntire again, this time from 42 yards out, before a 24-yard TD run by Jones capped the first-half scoring.

Buckeye couldn’t get much going on offense in the first half, save for a few tough runs out of its fishbone formation.

The Panthers’ coaching staff and players knew the caliber of opponent that would come to Yorkville on Friday, but they hoped their team would still put up a fight on Alumni Night, when the school honors the 30th anniversary of the Panthers’ 1994 state runner-up team.

However, this was not the case.

“We didn’t prepare like we should have this week, and I told the coaches in the locker room that I don’t think we prepared like we did the first three games.” Buckeyes head coach Chris Kiedaisch said. “We came out and they were a really good team and when you don’t prepare to play a really good team, this is what happens.”

Despite going 1-2 in their first three games, the Panthers, even in defeat, held on in losses to Bellaire and Union Local.

This was not the case on Friday.

“I think they knew Barnesville was one of the best teams on our schedule, but for them to come out and lose on homecoming night is probably one of the most disappointing things,” Kiedaisch added.

Buckeye finally got their first goal when backup quarterback Grant Dombroski ran into the end zone from 9 yards out.

The Panthers had a chance to score early in the second half after Daniel Divjack took the opening kickoff and returned it to the Shamrocks’ red zone. But Buckeye was forced back and lost the ball on downs.

“The varsity team did a great job of taking control of the game and we were able to get a lot of kids some playing time, and the backups did a good job with the goal line and then came back to answer for a score in the fourth quarter.” Allen added.

Buckeye will look to rebound next week when Monroe Central travels to the World War II Memorial while Barnesville will try to keep its streak alive when it travels to Hannibal to take on River.

Barnesville 57, Buckeye Local 7

Barnesville 22 28 0 7

Buckeye Local 0 0 7 0

Ba – Tolliver 2 run (Lough kick)

Ba – Ca.Carpenter 4 passes to McIntire (Lough kick)

Ba–Jones 2 races (Tolliver race)

Ba – Ca.Carpenter 70 passes Cam.Carpenter (Lough)

Ba – Cam.Carpenter 65 punt return (Lough kick)

Ba – Ca.Carpenter 42 pass to McIntire (Lough kick)

Ba – Jones 24 run (Lough kick)

BL – Dombroski 9 run (Boyce kick)

Ba – Anderson 9 run (Meade kick)

Rushing: Barnesville 19-174-4td (Ca.Carpenter 1-8, Cam.Carpenter 1-12, Tolliver 8-70-td; Jones 3-32-2td; Anderson 3-22-td). Buckeye Local: 25-69-td (Roush 11-35, Luyster 8-19; Eastham 3-13; Dombroski 1-9-td; McDiffitt 2-(-7)).

Passes: Barnesville 5-8-126-3td (Ca.Carpenter 5-6-126-3td). Buckeye Local 10-19-74-2x (McDiffitt 8-14-58-2x, Dombroski 2-5-16).

Receiving: Barnesville 5-126-3td (McIntire 3-48-2td; Cam.Carpenter 1-70-td). Buckeye Local: 9-65 (Boyce 2-20, Takach 1-5, Jones 1-(-2), Dombroski 1-10, Divjack 4-40, Eastham 1-1).

First downs: Barnesville 12; Buckeye Local 8.

Penalties: Barnesville 3-20; Buckeye Local: 2-15.

Escapes: Barnesville 0-0; Buckeye Local 2-1.

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