Sidney senior quarterback Ethan New is tackled by Bellefontaine’s Johnathan Hoffman, left, and Jacob Salyer during a nonconference game on Friday at Sidney Memorial Stadium.
Bryant Billing | Sidney Daily News
SIDNEY — Sidney didn’t fare better taking the Tavien St. Clair challenge this year than last.
But coach Dave Taynor said there were positives to take away from the team’s play, and he’s optimistic as the squad starts Miami Valley League play next week.
St. Clair, an Ohio State verbal commit, threw for 275 yards and four TDs and ran for 64 yards and two TDs in the Yellow Jackets’ 48-21 loss to Bellefontaine in a season opener on Friday at Sidney Memorial Stadium.
“He’s a good player, there’s no doubt about it,” Taynor said.
“We did some things we can learn from. We did some things that were good, and we did some things that we can easily correct.”
Sidney stayed close in the first half and cut the gap to six points late in the second quarter, but Bellefontaine scored the next four touchdowns to pull away.
The Chieftains dominated the second half, which was punctuated by several injury timeouts for Sidney players, mostly due to cramping.
“We have to do a better job of taking care of ourselves and hydrating,” Taynor said. “Give Bellefontaine credit and Tavien St. Clair credit. He’s scrambling everywhere. Our guys are trying their best to plaster and stay with guys, and plays are just stretching into the seven, eight second range versus the four or five second range.
“So by the time you get into the second half, that’s a lot of extra time running around. We had our fourth and fifth corner out there by the end, because we had guys out cramping.”
Sidney stayed in it in the first half, but had two missed opportunities. After a decent kickoff return by Tank Fleming to start the game, the squad turned the ball over on downs at Bellefontaine’s 41-yard line. The Yellow Jackets turned it over on downs at Bellefontaine’s 15 on their second drive.
Sidney later pulled within 20-14; a touchdown on either of the squad’s first two drives could have given Sidney the lead.
“We can’t miss those scoring opportunities and expect to compete with Bellefontaine,” Taynor said. “We needed to hit those two.”
St. Clair threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Brayton Newcomb with 9:01 left in the first to give the squad a 6-0 lead after a failed two-point conversion try and followed on the squad’s second drive with a 13-yard TD pass to Patrick Stolly with 1:16 left to push the lead to 13-0.
After Sidney punted, Newcomb hauled in a 34-yard TD pass from St. Clair with 9:41 left to increase the lead to 20-0.
With Julius Spradling at quarterback, Sidney got going in the second quarter.
A few plays after a long run, Spradling ran in from 1 yard out with 7:12 left in the second to cut the gap to 20-6.
Bellefontaine was forced to punt for the first time on its next drive, and starting QB Ethan New threw a 21-yard TD pass to Fleming with 4:33 left. Fleming then ran in on a two-point conversion try after catching a short pass to cut the gap to 20-14.
The Chieftains quickly drove and scored. St. Clair scrambled for an about 5-yard TD run with 3:20 left to increase the lead to 27-14.
Sidney drove into Bellefontaine territory late in the half, but a pass to Fleming in the end zone just before halftime was incomplete.
The Chieftains dominated the second half. St. Clair scored on a 24-yard TD run to cap the first possession of the third quarter, then Carter Caudill scored on a 1-yard TD run with 2:44 left to push the lead to 41-14.
St. Clair threw a 15-yard TD pass to Newcomb with seven seconds left in the third, which started a running clock.
Isaiah Foster scored on a 4-yard TD run for the Yellow Jackets with 3:01 left in the fourth to stop the running clock.
Newcomb caught 14 passes (three of which were TDs) for 215 yards.
Bellefontaine had 473 yards of offense while Sidney had 412.
New was 15 for 24 for 210 yards with one TD and one interception. Foster ran for 95 yards and one TD and Spradling ran for 93 yards and one TD. Fleming caught nine passes for 161 yards with one TD and returned two kickoffs for 58 yards.
Spradling didn’t play the second half as a precaution due to injury.
The Yellow Jackets are scheduled to start Miami Valley League play next week by traveling to Stebbins.
“I feel like we’ve got a better handle on what we need to do in order to make corrections,” Taynor said. “We have the potential to be much better. We just have to get a little healthier.”
Reach Sidney Daily News editor Bryant Billing at 937-538-4822, or follow @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook or @TopBillingSport on X (Twitter).
