VANDALIA – The Sidney Yellow Jackets narrowly fell to the Butler Aviators 46-43 on Friday in Vandalia in a Miami Valley League contest.
Sidney (4-4, 4-3) muffed the opening kickoff of the game and gave Butler the ball on the Yellow Jackets 35-yard line to start the night.
The Aviators marched down the field and took half of the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead with just under six minutes to play.
Sidney responded in its first offensive drive with a long drive from Julius Spradling to put the Yellow Jackets inside the Butler 10-yard line before Isaiah Foster punched the ball in with a short run of his own.
After being pushed back a few yards, quarterback Ethan New found Tank Fleming for a 30-yard touchdown reception. New converted the two-point play to take a 14-7 lead with 1:33 to play in the first quarter.
The Aviators wasted no time in their response, scoring on a 73-yard reception on their first play from scrimmage. Sidney limited the damage by blocking the PAT to keep a 14-13 lead with just over a minute to play in the quarter.
New got in on the passing action with a 76-yard reception from T. Fleming that gave the Yellow Jackets a 20-13 lead. He followed that up with another 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 22-13 with 0:35 left in the first.
New negated an earlier interception when he found Tanner Snider for a 20-yard touchdown reception. A successful PAT extended the lead to 29-13 with 8:00 to play in the half.
New added six points to the board on a short QB run to extend the lead to 36-13 after a successful PAT with 5:52 to play in the first half.
Butler showed signs of life late in the second half when they scored on a 12-yard run to cut the lead to 36-20 with 2:21 left in the second quarter.
Sidney was unable to take advantage of the turnovers and punted back to the Aviators. Butler pushed down the field and got the first score of the half on a short run. After a successful 2-point conversion the Yellow Jackets led 36-28 with four minutes to play in the third.
The Aviators cut through the Sidney defense and scored a seemingly easy touchdown before topping the drive off with a 2-point conversion to tie the game at 36-36 with 2:11 to play in the third.
After being pushed back to its own 15-yard line, Butler’s QB connected on a crazy 85-yard touchdown reception that gave it a 43-36 lead with 7:53 to play.
The Yellow Jackets tied the game up on a Julius Spradling rushing touchdown with three minutes left to play. The Aviators took over and cut down the field and made it to the Sidney 10-yard line with just two seconds on the clock following a Butler timeout.
The Aviators lined up for a field goal and put the ball through the uprights as the Yellow Jackets were unable to prevent the score as time expired and Butler took the game 46-43.
Sidney takes on MVL rival Piqua at Piqua on Friday at 7 p.m. as it starts to round out its regular season.
Lehman’s winning streak grows to seven with blowout win over Covington
The Lehman Catholic Cavaliers knocked off the Covington Buccaneers 35-7 on Friday at Sidney Memorial Stadium in a Three Rivers Conference matchup.
In a familiar scene, quarterback Turner Lachey found CJ Olding for a touchdown to get the Cavaliers (7-1, 5-0) on the board first late in the first quarter.
Lehman added to its lead in the second quarter on a Da’Ron Pride touchdown to take a 14-0 lead before the Buccaneers responded quickly with seven points of their own.
Right before the end of the half, Lachey completed a pass to Dillon Schmiesing for a touchdown to extend the lead to 21-7.
In the third quarter, Evan O’Leary got in on the fun with a touchdown of his own. Later in the quarter, Lachey nailed O’Leary for his second and final touchdown of the night as the Cavaliers took a 35-7 lead through the end of regulation.
Lehman Catholic takes on Troy Christian in another TRC matchup at Sidney Memorial Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m.
Anna shutout by Marion Local
The Anna Rockets lost 42-0 to the Marion Local Flyers on Friday at Booster Field in Anna in a Midwest Athletic Conference contest.
All 42 of the Flyers’ points were scored in the first half as the Rockets (5-3, 3-3) suffered their first loss in nearly a month to the MAC frontrunners.
Anna will look to get back on the win column on Friday when it travels to take on Fort Recovery who is currently tied for eighth place in the MAC, at 7 p.m.
Fort Loramie falls short at home against Bluffton
Fort Loramie took a 42-28 loss to the undefeated Bluffton Pirates on Friday in Fort Loramie in a Northwest Conference matchup.
The Pirates got out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but Loramie (3-5, 2-3) responded with a touchdown of its own from quarterback Gabe Hart to Thomas Hoying that knotted the game up 7-7.
Loramie took its first and only lead in the game early in the second quarter on another Hart to Hoying pass.
The lead was short lived as Bluffton tied the game up just over a minute later. At the half, the game was still tied 14-14.
The Pirates started strong in the second half, getting two touchdowns to take a 28-14 lead before Loramie battled back with a 60-yard touchdown pass to Maxwell Maurer to cut the lead to 28-21.
On Bluffton’s first play from scrimmage, it nabbed seven more points on a 76-yard reception to extend the lead to 35-21 at the end of the third quarter.
Hart was picked off in the fourth quarter which led to a 51-yard touchdown run for the Pirates that was essentially the nail for Loramie.
Fort Loramie didn’t quit however, scoring on a third Hart to Hoying touchdown pass to end the game 42-28.
Loramie takes on Delphos Jefferson, who is yet to win an NWC game, at Delphos on Friday at 7 p.m.
Reach assistant editor / sports writer Ryan Harless at 937-538-4651 or follow @RyanHarless_ on X (formerly Twitter).
