Ohio high school football notebook: Beaver Eastern sets records with wild 71-52 win

Beaver Eastern of Pike County won its 31st straight regular-season game in a 71-52 shootout against South Gallia. The Eagles moved to 9-0 overall and locked up their fourth straight Southern Ohio Conference I title. Two Eastern players joined the OHSAA record book. Senior quarterback Eric Manley completed 23-of-44 passes for 574 yards and 10 touchdowns. The touchdown passes tie him for the top spot with Lima Senior's Ja'niaus Hall, who did so against Toledo Waite on Oct. 11, 2024. Seven touchdown passes went to junior receiver Boston Webb, who is now alone atop that list. Webb finished the game with 13 receptions for 347 yards. Ontario's Gavin Miller completed 14-of-18 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-0 blowout win over Marengo Highland. Miller also ran for 50 yards and a touchdown on six carries and had five tackles (1 for loss) on defense. Guy Trader caught two passes for 30 yard and a score, returned a punt 68 yards for a score and recorded eight tackles (1 for loss). Shelby's Brayden DeVito completed 8-of-9 passes for 177 yards and four touchdowns while also running for 154 yards and two TDs on seven carries, adding a two-point conversion, recording a tackle for loss and a returning a fumble for a TD in a 55-10 win over Marion Pleasant. Shelby clinched at least a share of the 31st league championship in program history and sixth Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title in the last seven years. Clear Fork's Ben Campbell was a one-man wrecking crew, as he threw a 13-yard touchdown pass, ran for 203 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries and recorded three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a 44-7 win over Caledonia River Valley. Devyn Oswalt added 111 yards rushing and a TD on five carries and caught a 13-yard touchdown while also recording a sack. Lexington's Markale Martin piled up 124 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 12 attempts in a 49-17 win over Mansfield Madison. Joe Caudill added 112 rushing yards on eight carries with a score and completed 8-of-10 passes for 140 yards and two TDs. Columbus Grove got a record-shattering night from Trevon Baxter in a 33-25 win over Lima Central Catholic in a matchup for sole possession of first place in the Northwest Conference. Baxter caught a school-record 18 passes for 172 yards and a score as Grove, which started 0-3 against a gauntlet of strong teams, won its sixth straight and clinched at least a share of the NWC title, its third straight and sixth in seven seasons. To win the title outright, the Bulldogs (6-3, 6-0) will have to beat another state-ranked team when they go against Bluffton (8-1, 5-1). Baxter also set standards for season receptions (52) and career receptions (103). Grove quarterback Landon Best was 23-of-24 passing for 221 yards and three TDs. Pandora-Gilboa quarterback Cory Gerten played just the first half but etched his name in the record books when he completed 8-of-10 passes for 104 yards and a TD in a 41-6 win over Ada. Those 104 yards gave Gerten 6,406 in his career, surpassing 6,350 set by Jared Breece from 2015-18. McComb quarterback Grady Schroeder accounted for five touchdowns — four passing, one rushing — in the first half of a 47-0 win over Riverdale. Convoy Crestview senior running back Braxton Leeth had 23 carries for 238 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-27 win over Spencerville. Leeth has 223 carries for 2,120 yards and 31 touchdowns this season. Wapakoneta earned at least a share of its seventh straight Western Buckeye League title with a 41-10 victory over Elida. Senior quarterback Caleb Moyer completed 21-of-27 passes for 273 yards with three touchdowns. Wideout Kaden Page caught nine passes for 116 yards and had a 54-yard TD pass on the second possession of the game. Jarrett Mullen had six receptions for 73 yards and also led the Redskins with 81 rushing yards and two TDs on seven carries. With its 21-16 win over Edgewood, Franklin won the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division championship. Franklin had touchdown runs by Ryan Michael (79 yards) and Bryant Ferguson (17) and a 30-yard passing touchdown from Michael to Jack Berry. It was the fourth consecutive win for Franklin, which started the season 0-5. Kolby Morgerson, Drew Conger and Alex Collins exploded offensively in leading Carlisle to a 46-8 win over Madison. Morgerson, a junior quarterback, completed 21-of-29 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Conger caught a TD and totaled 125 receiving yards on six catches, while Collins was the workhouse running back with 155 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. A 14-point third quarter helped Springboro rally to beat Centerville 30-20. The Panthers trailed 17-13 at halftime but got touchdown passes from Max Miller to Brady Guttman (6 yards) and Noah Billinski (14) to take the lead in the third period. Miller finished with 352 yards and three touchdowns while completing 25-of-31 pass attempts. Guttman totaled 171 receiving yards and a score on 13 catches, while Billinski had 148 and two on eight. Parker Johnson was unstoppable in Centerville's 30-20 loss to Springboro, running the ball 32 times for 240 yards and a touchdown. It was his first 200-plus yard game of the season, putting him over 1,000. Tytus Bettendorf had a 99-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to seal Miamisburg's 28-14 win over Northmont. He also had a 2-yard score in the first half and completed 7-of-10 passes for 157 yards. Kettering Fairmont handed Springfield its first Greater Western Ohio Conference loss when Kole Krejny kicked a 33-yard field goal with just over three minutes left. Damien Pattin led the Firebirds' ground game with 128 yards on 27 carries. Elijah Grigsby threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-38 passing as West Carrollton snapped its scoreless streak at two games in a 31-28 loss at Sidney. Damani Yow caught seven passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Bryce Peet established himself as Geneva's career rushing rusher, surpassing an 11-year-record previously held by Aaron Rossi at 3,898 yards. Peet achieved the feat with 181 yards on 18 carries as Geneva clinched a share of the Chagrin Valley Conference Lake Division title with a 35-7 win over Madison. Strongsville's Vincent Roncone equaled the school record for the most field goals made in a game with three in a 17-0 win over Shaker Heights. His longest was 47 yards, while he also successfully converted from 32 and 24. Roncone also recorded two touchbacks. A.J. Pearson of Girard had an impressive performance in a 48-20 win over Hubbard, throwing for 289 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for 134 yards and two touchdowns. That offensive output helped Girard secure its spot atop the Northeast 8 Athletic Conference. Liberty Center coach Casey Mohler has succeeded hall of famer Rex Lingruen (254-104, 1985-2016) and has won at even a higher clip than his former coach. The ninth-year coach of the Division V No. 1 Tigers earned his 100th career victory in a 56-0 shutout of Wauseon, moving him to 100-16 (.862). In almost nine seasons, LC has only lost eight NWOAL games and has an active streak of 32 league wins. Garrison Kruse was again busy for unbeaten Liberty Center in the win over Wauseon, rushing for 100 yards on eight carries with two TDs to put him at 1,085 yards on just 75 attempts (14.5 average) this season. Kruse also caught a 10-yard TD pass and racked up eight tackles (4 for loss, 2 sacks). Colt Hunt had a hand in all five Paulding touchdowns in an historic 36-10 win at Defiance Tinora. Hunt completed 16-of-26 passes for 233 yards and three TDs while rushing 10 times for 58 yards and two touchdowns as Paulding secured the Green Meadows Conference title, the program's first since the 1988 Northwest Conference. Jordan Manz was the top performer with Hunt, catching nine passes for 214 yards and three TDs along with five tackles on defense and a forced fumble. Defiance's Kelten Gibbs hit the 200-yard mark for the fourth time in five games, tallying 232 yards and two TDs on 20 carries while catching two passes for 17 yards and completing a 62-yard fake punt in a 39-21 loss to Lima Bath. Defiance Ayersville's Dane Ewers ripped off a 40-yard touchdown run, caught a 37-yard TD pass, returned a kickoff 87 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, made five tackles and picked off a pass in a 20-15 win over Antwerp. Antwerp had two standouts. Keegan Gray-Wyckoff recorded 10 tackles (5 for loss, 3 sacks), forced a fumble and recovered a fumble, while Hampton Rogge completed 17-of-32 passes for 189 yards and a TD and picked off three passes, returning one for a touchdown. Johnstown junior Ryan Sager piled up 384 yards on 34 carries, scoring on runs of 14, 78, 47 and 7 yards in a 56-20 win against Utica. Granville senior Kyle Kirby had only 10 carries but scored on half of them in the first half of a 52-8 win against Zanesville. He had two TD runs of 47 yards — the others came from 33, 6 and 3 yards — giving him 25 on the season. He totaled 198 yards. Nelsonville-York vanquished Vinton County 54-12 in Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division action, raising its record to 9-0. Cameron Sullivan completed 10-of-12 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 69 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. Caeleb Layton made 13 tackles (4 for loss, 2 sacks). Nelsonville-York plays at fellow 9-0 The Plains Athens for the TVC Ohio outright championship. Symmes Valley defeated Portsmouth Notre Dame 63-47 in a Southern Ohio Conference Division I shootout. Symmes Valley quarterback Bronx Carpenter completed 25-of-36 passes for 359 yards and four touchdown passes, while Jackson Fields caught 13 passes for 237 yards and five TDs. Notre Dame was led by dual-threat quarterback Luke Cassidy, who accounted for 367 of the team's 466 yards total offense. Cassidy ran for 180 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns and threw for 187 yards and a score. The teams combined for 1,049 yards and 47 first downs. Sciotoville East shut out visiting Franklin Furnace Green 46-0 in Southern Ohio Conference Division I action. The win snapped a 13-game losing streak for the Tartans, dating to Week 4 of 2024, in which they won 40-28 at Manchester. Green's losing streak is now at nine. The run-oriented Tartans did not punt or attempt a pass, rushing for 331 yards on 42 carries. Five Tartans tallied at least three carries for at least 53 yards and one touchdown apiece. Both teams entered the game at 0-7, 0-3. McDermott Northwest senior quarterback Jake Brown completed 15-of-19 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns to Austin Smith while also rushing for 100 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in a high-scoring 59-31 win at Waverly in Southern Ohio Conference Division II action. Smith caught five passes for 171 yards and both of Brown's TDs. The Mohawks won at Waverly for the first time and defeated the Tigers in back-to-back seasons for the first time. Sycamore Mohawk went into OT with rival Carey in order to win 29-28. Mohawk pulled off a special play it had been saving all season "The Sycamore Special." Owen Patrizi threw a lateral pass to Brant Kirian, who then ran in reverse to throw from 5 yards to Andon Clouse to tie the game at 28. Clouse rushed in for the game-ending two-point conversion.