DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
DECATUR – The Bellmont Braves went their fourth successive game without scoring a point and fell to 0-6 as they lost their 28th game in a row Friday, 51-0, to the Leo Lions.
The home team mustered just 31 yards of offense and allowed two safeties.
After quickly falling behind 21-0, Easton Curtis and the Braves went three and out, unable to gain positive yardage. The team’s attempt to punt went out the back of the end zone, but the Braves committed a false start and were able to punt it away.
Leo picks up 35 yards to get to the two in three plays, but a bad snap went to the ground and was kicked and Oliver Goble recovered it, giving the Braves a turnover and the ball on their own one-yard line.
Off the kick from the safety, Rashaad Martin scored on the first play from scrimmage for the Lions, continuing an unsettling streak of allowing one-play scoring drives for the Braves.
BHS went backwards on the first two plays of the next drive, then pulled off a trick play, moving four linemen to the left side of the field away from the ball. Mason White picked up a first down on a 13-yard catch, one of two completions for Curtis in the contest, with the other going for two yards to Oliver Werling.
Bellmont continued the next series in a variation of that formation, with just one man on either side of the center, without any success.
Bellmont’s punt attempt on 4th and 12 with a minute left in their own territory never made it to the punter on the snap and was flagged for a penalty because the ball essentially never went to anyone but the long snapper himself. That allowed the Braves to take another shot, but the snap went over the head of Gavin Krull and into the end zone for a second safety in the quarter.
Luke Tackwell made a huge catch down the left sideline to set up Leo for their first score of second half (19-yard gain).
Landin Hoeppner scored from four yards out, but the play was called back for an illegal block. The Lions then went right back to Hoeppner, who went uncovered into the middle of the end zone for an uncontested catch to put the visitors up 39-0.
Despite the running clock, the Braves were flagged for a delay of game on 3rd & 11 and their attempt for a fourth-down conversion was knocked down by the Leo line.
The short field for Leo allowed the Lions to run the ball down to the 1-yard line in three plays before the clock ran out on the third quarter.
With nine minutes remaining in the game, Bellmont went with their freshman QB, Daniel Selking, and a couple more classmates. Austin Manley picked up positive yardage on one play, but Selking was sacked and later intercepted on fourth down and Leo was set up for another score.
Backup QB Titus Stoller picked up one big chunk of yards on a keeper to get to midfield and Landon Foster did the rest, scoring one play later from 44 yards out to cap off the night for the visitors, who moved to 5-1 with the victory.
The Braves had -2 yards of offense in the second half.
Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
9:07 – Nathan Foster 5-yd run, Elijah Lorenc PAT good, 7-0
2:12 – Grayson Esquerra 29-yd run, Lorenc PAT good, 14-0
Quarter 2
8:09 – Kellan Hulburt 26-yd pass from Esquerra, Lorenc PAT good, 21-0
4:17 – Safety, Aidan Wemhoff tackled in end zone, 23-0
3:57 – Rashaad Martin 33-yd run, Lorenc PAT good, 30-0
:44 – Gavin Krull attempted punt goes out back of end zone, 32-0
Quarter 3
7:52 – Landin Hoeppner 11-yd reception from Esquerra, Lorenc PAT good, 39-0
Quarter 4
10:15 – Titus Stoller 1-yd run, PAT no good, 45-0
1:38 – Landon Foster 44-yd run, PAT no good, 51-0
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