Bloom Carroll's defense forces turnovers in a big win over the Falcons
· Yahoo Sports
LANCASTER — Coaches everywhere use the adage, “Defense wins championships.”
Well, on Friday night (Sept. 18), Bloom-Carroll’s defense showed that it is still up to the task against a tough Fairfield Union team, and that they’re still a team to beat in the Mid-State League. The Bulldogs’ defense forced two fumbles inside their own 10-yard line and held the Falcons to just 62 rushing yards on their way to a 30-13 victory at Fairfield Union Stadium.
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“So proud of our guys,” Bloom-Carroll coach Steve Daulton said. “We knew this was a big, big game, that’s a senior team that Fairfield Union has, they brought back everybody and they’ve been playing at a very, very high level and we knew we’d get their best shot. (Fairfield Union) came out swinging, hit the big pass play on the first possession, but our guys never flinched and all the credit is to them.”
Bloom-Carroll (4-2, 2-0 MSL-Buckeye) led 14-7 at halftime, but Fairfield Union was able to move the ball to start the third quarter with some success. On a first-down play, Fairfield Union’s Dean Clark hit Camden Maynard on a pass that appeared to get the Falcons inside the Bulldog 10-yard line; however, Bloom-Carroll’s Dominic Eshbaugh tracked down Maynard to make the tackle and was able to knock the ball loose, and teammate Ace Claprood recovered.
Then just three minutes later, the Falcons had the ball again deep in Bulldog territory, facing a 2nd-and-goal from the 2-yard line. This time Clark handed off to running back Lane Burkhardt, who tried to plunge across the goal line, however a Bulldog defender was able to again knock the ball loose and the Bulldogs again recovered to keep the 14-7 lead at the time.
“It’s a great momentum shift and great morale booster for our team,” Bloom-Carroll senior Carson Drury said “Our coach, since we’ve been doing defensive drills, always tells us that if you give us an inch, we’ll defend it. And that’s been our mindset, and even on something like PAT blocks, when we should be sad that they (opponents) scored, but no, we have to keep our heads up because they could be the game-changing play, and both of those were game-changing plays tonight.”
The Bulldogs offense was able to cash in on the second fumble, picking up a pair of third down conversions to move the ball into Falcon territory. On a fourth down and three yards to go on the Falcon 45, the Bulldogs used play-action to set up the defense and Caiden Schooley found a wide-open Chase Allen with a perfect pass down the sideline that Allen finished off for a touchdown and a 21-7 Bulldog lead with less than a minute to play in the third quarter.
“It was one we’ve worked on this week,” Daulton said of the fourth-down play. “And any time there is a threat of No. 8 (Cline) touching the ball, eyes are going to look his way. Chase ran a great route, and Caiden made a phenomenal throw, and even when you practice it, it doesn’t always turn out like that, but sometimes you dial one up and get the look you’re hoping for, and the kids go out and execute.”
Schooley had a solid game leading the offense as he finished 5-of-9 passing for 73 yards and the touchdown, while also running for 17 yards with another touchdown. But the star of the night for the Bulldog offense was senior running back Kyson Cline, who ran for 246 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries and numerous broken tackles along the way.
Cline opened the scoring for the Bulldogs in the first half with a 56-yard touchdown run while breaking several tackle attempts by the Falcons.
“It’s just strong legs,” Cline joked. “My dad tells me every day it’s a God-given talent. But usually when I’m running, I try to get the defense as stiff as possible to try and break off as many tackles as possible. I just make sure they (opponents) know I want to set the tone.”
Fairfield Union (3-2, 1-1) made the first impression to begin the game. After the defense forced a three-and-out by the Bulldogs, Dean Clark connected with Kohen Arnett on a 45-yard touchdown pass to give the Falcons the early 7-0 lead three minutes into the game.
However, from that point on, the Falcons offense sputtered for the rest of the half, with three three-and-outs resulting in punts and one turnover on downs. Add that to the three turnovers in the second half and it leaves the Falcons wondering what could have been.
Clark finished 11-of-18 passing for 192 yards and two touchdowns but ran for just 14 yards on nine attempts. Burkhardt was the team’s leading rusher with 45 yards on 14 attempts, while Arnett was the leading receiver with 106 yards and two scores on four receptions.
“We were prepared for this game, honestly,” Cline said. “We were talking all week that we knew Fairfield Union was good this year, and they’re very well-rounded and we knew it was a must-win game for us and we were able to get it done.”
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Bloom Carroll's defense forces turnovers in a big win over the Falcons