Lehman Catholic’s Evan O’Leary attempts to dodge Northridge’s Tie’on Hill on Friday at Northridge.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
DAYTON – The Lehman Catholic Cavaliers fell 46-14 to the Northridge Polar Bears on Friday in a battle for the Three Rivers Conference title in Northridge.
“We didn’t show up to play,” Lehman head coach Dwane Rowley said. “Northridge is a good, talented team. They’re athletic, fast and aggressive and we knew that coming into the game. We just didn’t come in ready to play.”
The Polar Bears got on the board first with a 22-yard pass that was hauled in at the corner of the end zone. A failed two-point conversion put the Cavaliers (8-2, 6-1) down 6-0 with 9:10 to play in the first quarter.
Lehman Catholic answered with a touchdown of its own with just under seven minutes left in the first quarter when quarterback Turner Lachey found Evan O’Leary on a 15-yard pass in the back of the endzone. A successful PAT gave the Cavaliers a 7-6 lead.
Northridge re-gained the lead with a 19-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter before it added another touchdown on its next drive to take an 18-7 lead with a third failed two-point conversion.
After another Lehman punt, the Polar Bears marched down the field with relative ease and scored on a quarterback run to take a 24-7 lead into the half.
The Cavaliers started the second half with the ball.
The Polar Bears stifled the Lehman offense and got back on the board with a 33-yard rushing touchdown to take a 32-7 lead on the successful two-point conversion.
The Cavaliers finally moved back into the red zone when CJ Olding made a 43-yard reception with 4:50 to play in the third quarter.
Lachey capitalized on the field position, dumping a four-yard pass to Da’Ron Pride to cut the lead to 32-14 with 3:29 left in the third.
Northridge added another touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter to take a 40-14 lead on a 20-yard pass with 11:53 to play in regulation.
With Lehman on offense, Lachey looked to find O’Leary but was picked off on the Cavaliers 45-yard line. The interception was returned for a touchdown, starting the running clock with eight minutes to play and a 46-14 lead for the Polar Bears.
Lehman trekked down into Northridge territory but was unable to put any points on the board as it turned the ball over on downs and allowed the Polar Bears to enter victory formation.
“The record 8-2 is good,” Rowley said. “We’ll have to regroup and get ready for the playoffs and we’ll see how we do next week.”
According to JoeEitel.com projections, the Cavaliers clinched a five seed in Division VII, Region 28 and will host 12 seed and TRC rival Riverside on Friday at 7 p.m. Official playoff projections will be released by the OHSAA on Sunday.
Lehman beat Riverside 34-18 in a Week 7 matchup.
Fort Loramie hangs on to beat Allen East
Fort Loramie knocked off Allen East 31-21 on Friday at Allen East in a Northwest Conference matchup.
Loramie (5-5, 4-3) took an early lead when quarterback Gabe Hart took a seven-yard run into the endzone, a successful PAT made the score 7-0.
Later in the first, Ray Hoying scored on a three-yard run that extended the lead to 14-0 with three minutes on the clock in the first quarter.
In the second, G. Hart found Maxwell Maurer for a 34-yard touchdown pass. A third successful PAT gave Loramie a 21-0 lead.
Late in the first half, Allen East looked to score when Cole Barhorst intercepted a pass in the endzone to get posession back. Fort Loramie was able to capitalize on the turnover, kicking a 17-yard field goal to add to its lead at the end of the half.
In the third quarter, Loramie stayed strong on defense and got its second interception of the game. This time it was Thomas Hoying who gave Fort Loramie the ball on its own one.
Halfway through the fourth, R. Hoying scored his second touchdown of the game on a 12-yard run to take a 31-0 lead with just six minutes to play.
Allen East got on the board two minutes later on a 77-yard pass to cut the Loramie lead to 31-7. It scored again just seconds later on a 55-yard fumble recovery and making the score 31-14 with 3:48 to play.
Loramie managed to give up a third touchdown in the fourth quarter, but held on to win 31-21.
Fort Loramie clinched an 11 seed in the playoffs and will travel to Ridgemont for a first-round playoff game, according to JoeEitel.com projections.
Anna shuts out Parkway
The Anna Rockets stomped the Parkway Panthers 46-0 on Friday at Booster Field in Anna in a Midwest Athletic Conference matchup.
The Rockets (7-3, 5-3) started the scoring early when Grant Beckman blocked a Parkway punt and took the ball to the end zone for a 7-0 lead with just under nine-minutes to play in the first.
Anna scored just a few minutes later when Aaron Shappie ran for a 28-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0. The Rockets ended the first quarter with a 27-0 lead.
At the half, Anna was up 40-0 and scored once more before the end of the game.
The Rockets clinched a three seed in Division VI, Region 24 according to JoeEitel.com and will host round one of the playoff at Booster Field against either Lima Perry or Covington next week at 7 p.m.
Reach assistant editor/sports writer Ryan Harless at 937-538-4651 or follow @RyanHarless_ on X (formerly Twitter).
