Mount Vernon football edges Johnstown in overtime thriller

Mount Vernon and Johnstown had a battle for the ages Friday.

The Yellow Jackets and Johnnies slugged it out with either team leading by more than one touchdown and needing extra time to decide the victor.

In the end, it was an extra point that decided the outcome. Mount Vernon’s Jackson Hite calmly kicked the point that propelled the Jackets to a 35-34 overtime victory over the visiting Johnnies.

It was on the back and legs of MV quarterback Mason Richards that the Jackets rode to victory. Richards rushed for 302 yards on the night; scored four touchdowns, including an 84-yarder; and propelled the Jackets to the victory.

Richards scored on runs of 1, 66, 84 and 9 yards to lead the Jackets (2-2). The final touchdown came after Johnstown (1-3) had taken the lead on the first possession of overtime. Preston Carey scored from two-yards out, but the Johnnies were stuffed on the two-point conversion attempt. Johnstown missed on three of its five two-point conversions on the night, while Hite connected on all five of his PAT kicks.

Richards also completed 3 of 8 passes for 20 yards, but was picked off once. Ben Fitzpatrick caught two of those passes for 14 yards. Landon Dawson rushed for 22 yards on four carries and one touchdown.

Defensively, Luke Mullins led the Jackets with 11 tackles and a sack. Darrin Monahan added seven, while Dawson had five, and Fitzpatrick and Kaiden Schlosser had four each.

Freddies shut out Pirates to remain unbeaten

Fredericktown’s bend but don’t break defense did the trick Friday night, shutting out Cardington-Lincoln, 21-0, in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game at Cardington.

The Pirates (2-2 overall, 0-1 KMAC) managed 263 yards of offense, including 198 on the ground, but were unable to break into the end zone.

Fredericktown (4-0, 1-0), meanwhile racked up 278 yards rushing and added another 115 through the air.

Cirk Parker had 114 yards rushing on just 13 carries and scored a touchdown for the Freddies. Blake Sipes hit on 5 of 8 passes for 115 yards. Gavin Toombs caught four of those passes for 93 yards.

Cardington’s Wyatt Denny rushed for 101 yards on 29 carries.

Big plays early lead Centerburg to victory

Centerburg wasted little time in setting the tone for their victory over Northmor. The Trojans scored on a 63-yard run by Miles Marshall in the first quarter and never looked back, beating the defending KMAC champions, 44-27.

Marshall added a 4-yard run later in the quarter to push the Trojans’ lead to 16-0. He added another 33-yarder in the second and an 11-yard run in the third to help Centerburg (3-1, 1-0) pull away. Marshall finished the night with 170 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Blane Ball added 138 yards rushing and a touchdown, as well as completed 6 of 9 passes for 55 yards. Shawn Carter checked in with 75 yards rushing, while Eli Indiciani caught three passes for 26 yards.

Hayden Love and Ross Griffith each had an interception defensively for Centerburg.

Danville rally falls short against Indians

Danville rallied from a 12-0 deficit but couldn’t stay over the hump and fell to Mount Gilead, 26-22.

The Blue Devils (2-2, 0-1) rallied with 16 straight points to take a 16-12 lead in the third quarter. But the Indians (4-0, 1-0) scored the next two TDs and held on for the victory.

Nolan Ridgway led the Devils with 78 yards rushing on just seven carries. He had a 44-yarder and scored two touchdowns. Ridgway was 3 of 12 passing for 31 yards. Cyren Wallace added 53 yards rushing. Wallace scored the other TD for Danville when he caught a 55-yard pass from Parker Proper. Briggs Wallace had two catches for 17 yards.

Carson Proper led the Danville defense with three solo tackles and 18 assists. Christopher Mosher added eight solo and 12 assists, and Sylas Mizer had seven solo and 13 assists.