A balanced offensive attack and a stingy defense led the Washington Court House Blue Lions to a season-ending victory over cross-town rival Miami Trace 42-12, Friday.
The Blue Lions got the scoring started at the four-minute mark of the first quarter when senior running back Jacob Rice capped off a 9-play, 81-yard drive with a fifteen-yard run taking two minutes and twenty seconds off the clock; the point after try was no good. Just ninety seconds later the Blue Lions struck again on a 2-play, 59-yard drive that took just thirty-three seconds off the clock when Washington junior quarterback Dillon Steward found wide receiver Eli Ruth on a 32-yard pass to put the Blue Lions up 12-0. The 2-point conversion was good, and the first quarter ended with Washington up 14-0.
The second quarter started with a bang with both teams scoring within the first thirty seconds of the quarter. Washington scored on the first play, which wrapped up a 4-play, 55-yard drive that saw Jacob Rice pick up his second rushing touchdown of the night on a 40 rush and the PAT was good to give the Blue Lions a 21-0 lead with 11:51 remaining in the second half. Washington decided to kick it deep for the first time in the evening to senior Brady Wallace, and he made them pay with a 91-yard kick-off return to get the Panthers on the board. The PAT was no good, but Washington struck right back to close out the scoring in the first half when Steward hit Eli Lynch with an 11-yard pass on a drive that took just fifty five seconds off the clock to give Washington a 28-6 lead into the half.
Washington ended the first half with 137 yards rushing, 179 yards passing for 316 total first half yards. Miami Trace committed two first-half turnovers, had 79 yards rushing and 31 yards passing for 127 total first-half yards.
Washington got the ball first in the second half and marched down the field on a 7-play drive that took three minutes off the clock ending with a Dillon Steward 16-yard touchdown run. The Blue Lions went for the two-point conversion and converted on a pass from Steward to Lynch to put the Blue Lions up by thirty, 36-6, forcing a continuous clock. The fourth quarter saw both teams trade touchdowns including a 75-yard touchdown return by Miami Trace senior Malik Jackson after a Washington touchdown to close out the scoring and the game giving the Blue Lions a 42-12 victory.
Both teams were heavily penalized throughout the game, combining for 14 penalties for 159 yards, six from Miami Trace for 84 yards and eight from Washington for 75 yards.
Miami Trace was led by Brady Wallace who went over 1,200 yards rushing on the night. He finished with 16 rushes totaling 79 yards and a touchdown. Junior quarterback Tyler Taylor was 4-16 passing for 48 yards and 2 interceptions. Miami Trace (1-4, 1-9) had 175 total yards.
Washington Court House (2-3, 5-5) was led by Jacob Rice's 193 yards rushing on 21 carries and 2 touchdowns. Dillon Steward was 19-28 for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wide receiver Eli Ruth had 8 catches on the night for 123 yards and a score. The Blue Lions had 18 first downs and 449 total yards.
The win gives Washington back-to-back victories in the rivalry.