DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
A killer pash rush and a string of five big offensive plays put the Leo Lions up 30-0 in a matter of 15 minutes of real time as the #6 team in 4A dominated the Bellmont Braves from start to finish to move to 5-1 on the season while handing their opponents a 64th loss in their last 65 games played.
Charlie Faurote was terrorized in the first half and sacked three times by a pass rush led by Isaiah Coolman, the state-medalist heavyweight for the Lions. The Braves were unable to build any sort of rushing attack in their first game of the season without their senior Oliver Werling. The captain participated in the coin toss on crutches after breaking his foot last week against Huntington North.
It wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter against the Lions’ second-team defense that the Braves had positive rushing yardage. They ended the game with nine yards rushing on 26 carries. Exacerbating the issues of the ground game were the absences of Diego Arriaga and Luke Heyerly on the line.
For Leo, it was a Homecoming game worth remembering. They ran right through and past the Bellmont defense, scoring at will and scoring often.
The Lions’ biggest threat, senior Nathan Foster, touched the ball just four times, scoring on the final three with touchdown runs of 52, 30 and 75 yards. The three scores by Foster, who was removed from the game in favor of the backups after the 75-yarder, came over a matter of five offensive plays by the Lions.
Sandwiched between the two long scores by Foster was a sack in the end zone of Faurote by fellow freshman Sam Miller for a safety. The ensuing free kick was short and returned all the way to the Bellmont 30, setting up Foster for more heroics. The Braves went three and out on their next series, and after quarterback Titus Stoller took two shots downfield against a nervous Bellmont secondary, the Lions handed the ball to Foster on 3rd and 10 and he took it untouched to the house for 75 yards.
Bellmont’s best moment of the game came on the next drive. Unable to pick up another first down, Easton Curtis punted the ball away and freshman long snapper Ben Selzer showed the same hustle he’s shown all season long, recovering the ball for the Braves with a smart play after realizing it had touched a Leo player after the first bounce.
That heads-up play by Selzer gave the Braves an opportunity in the red zone to get on the board, but it was not meant to be. Kellan Hulburt cut in front of Cole Barger at the goal line and nearly took it 100+ yards for the score. Charlie Faurote did not shrug his shoulders after the INT, but rather chased down Hulburt, holding him up enough that Grady Baker could make the tackle 65 yards downfield.
Titus Stoller took it himself on a keeper for the next score two plays later and the Braves could not pick up a first down on their next possession, failing to convert on fourth down. Stoller then hit Luke Tackwell on a 44-yard touchdown pass on the very first play of the next possession to trigger the running clock in the second half.
Leo added a field goal in the third quarter and a run of 77 yards by Aaron Perlich for a score in the fourth. Perlich also delivered a major hit to Faurote along the sideline in the second half as the Lions showed no mercy on homecoming night.
In total, the Lions had 407 yards of offense on just 27 offensive plays. They had nine possessions and scored on seven of them. Their only failure to score in the first half was on the possession that ended the half.
Bellmont QB Charlie Faurote had a real bright spot in his connection with Cole Barger, who finally returned for the Braves after missing the first five weeks of varsity play. Barger had three catches for 19 yards, with two going for BHS first downs. Faurote finished the evening 12 for 22 with 107 yards passing. He was sacked four times and took several big hits in the second half, but still picked up 51 yards in the air on the team’s final drive.
The Braves will return home for their own Homecoming against New Haven, followed by a home contest against DeKalb in Week 8.
SCORING SUMMARY
Quarter 1
6:49 – L – Nathan Foster 52-yd run, Zink PAT good, 7-0
5:49 – L – Safety, Sam Miller tackles Charlie Faurote in end zone, 9-0
5:34 – L – Nathan Foster 30-yd run, Zink PAT good, 16-0
2:56 – L – Nathan Foster 75-yd run, Zink PAT good, 23-0
Quarter 2
7:30 – L – Titus Stoller 31-yd run, Zink PAT good, 30-0
5:12 – L – Luke Tackwell 44-yd catch from Stoller, Zink PAT good, 37-0
Quarter 3
4:49 – L – Zink 23-yd field goal, 40-0
Quarter 4
8:15 – L – Aaron Perlich 77-yd run, Zink PAT good, 47-0
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