Repost: Blanchester runs out of time against Western Brown

By MATT SEXTON
WNJ Sports Writer

                BLANCHESTER – In a game where the last team to possess the ball seemed destined to win, Blanchester simply ran out of time Friday night.

                In a back-and-forth shootout at Barbour Memorial Field, it was Western Brown that provided the game’s final score in 60-57 slugfest against Blanchester.

                Chaiten Tomlin threw his sixth and final touchdown pass to Eean Hornung with 41.2 seconds left to give the Broncos a three-point lead.

                Blanchester drove the ball across midfield to the Bronco 42. However, Seth Runyon’s final heave was batted down as time expired on one of the most memorable games in Southern Buckeye Conference history.

                “You hate to say anybody lost that ballgame,” said BHS head coach Jack O’Rourke. “I told them how proud I was of the effort they gave and they played until the last play.”

                Blanchester drove for what they hoped would be the winning score for the majority of the fourth quarter. They started on their own 13 yard line, trailing 54-49 with 9:11 left.

                What ensued was a 16-play, 87 yard drive which included a fourth-down conversion when Runyon’s hard count forced the Broncos offside at the Western 47.

                Blanchester would cash in – too soon as it turned out – when Conan Nicely scored from six yards away. The two-point conversion would give Blanchester a 57-54 lead with 1:53 left.

                Tomlin would get the Bronco drive started by returning the ensuing kickoff to the Blanchester 44. Two quick completions moved the ball to the Blanchester 27.

                Another completion gave the Broncos first and goal at the 10. After a false start penalty and an incomplete pass, Tomlin found Hornung on an underneath wide receiver screen. He weaved through traffic and into the endzone for what would turn out to be the winning score.

                Blanchester did everything they could to keep the ball away from the Broncos. The Wildcats ran an incredible 88 plays, including 80 rushing plays. The Wildcats ran for 480 yards on the ground, and racked up 29 first downs.

                Runyon had the bulk of the yardage, carrying the ball 31 times for 242 yards and three scores.

                “(Runyon) definitely did a good job,” said O’Rourke. “You can’t ask a whole lot more from a kid.”

                Conan Nicely also had a huge night, rushing 27 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Travis Nelson had 73 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries.

                Tomlin stole the show, completing 22 of 37 passes for 387 yards and six touchdowns. His top receiver was Dawson, who had 10 catches for 270 yards and four touchdowns for the unbeaten Broncos (4-0).

                “(Western Brown) hasn’t lost a regular season game in two years,” O’Rourke said. “They lost in the playoffs to a very good football team last year in a similar type manner. It was an outscore-you-type game.

                “They are a very prolific offense. It is different than anything we see all year. It’s a challenge, and they’ve got some serious athletes and serious talent there.”

 

Summary

WB         16           8              22           14           60
B             15           26           0              16           57

First Quarter

B – Seth Runyon 45-yard run (Brady Wilson kick) 10:53

WB – Chaiten Tomlin 67-yard run (Tomlin run) 5:29

B –Runyon 3-yard run (Runyon run) 24.0

WB – Tomlin 61-yard pass to Christian Dawson (Tomlin to Chaz Patton) 12.8

Second Quarter

B – Travis Nelson 16-yard run (run failed) 11:46

B – Nelson 5-yard run (pass failed) 9:52

WB – Tomlin 24-yard pass to Dawson (Nick Osborne run) 8:37

B – Conan Nicely 4-yard run (kick failed) 4:17

B – Nelson 4-yard run (Nelson run) 2:26

Third Quarter

WB – Tomlin 13-yard pass to Patten (Tomlin to Eean Hornung) 10:50

WB – Tomlin 67-yard pass to Dawson (Tomlin to Dawson) 5:35

WB – Tomlin 17-yard pass to Dawson (run failed) 4:12

Fourth Quarter

B – Runyon 16-yard run (Runyon to Nicely) 10:27

WB – Osborne 1-yard run (Tomlin run) 9:11

B – Nicely 6-yard run (Runyon to Nelson) 1:53

WB – Tomlin 15-yard pass to Hornung (run failed) 41.2

STATS

PLAYS – WB 50, B 88; FIRST DOWNS – WB 20, B 29; RUSHES-YARDS: WB 14-165, B 80-480; PASSING YARDS: WB 387, B 35; COM-ATT-INT: WB 22-37-2, 2-7-0; TOTAL YARDS: WB 552, B 515; PENALTIES-YARDS: WB 11-90, B 7-65; FUMBLES-LOST: WB 0-0; B 2-1.

Individual Stats

Rushing (carries-yards): WB: Tomlin 9-150 TD; Osborne 4-15. B: Runyon 31-242 3 TDs; Nicely 27-147 2 TDs; Nelson 17-73 3 TDs; Barger 1-8; Collier 4-10.

Passing (com-att-int): WB: Tomlin 22-37-2 387 yards 6 TDs; B: Runyon 2-7-0 35 yards; Nicely 0-1-0.

Receiving (catches-yards): Patten 4-42 TD; Dawson 10-270 4 TDs; Hornung 2-44; Osborne 5-26. B: Grogg 1-8; Nelson 1-27.