Ohio high school football notebook: St. Marys running back runs roughshod over Van Wert

Caleb Schmidt carried 42 times for 315 yards and six touchdowns as St. Marys Memorial's held on to defeat Van Wert 42-35.The 42 carries are second in school game history, while the 315 yards are third. The six touchdowns tied Schmidt's record set in Week 3 at Celina.Van Wert quarterback Zach Crummey was 27-of-40 for 461 yards and four touchdowns, with receiver Micah Cowan making 17 catches for 330 yards and a touchdown.The teams combined for 860 yards total offense, and the game ended with Van Wert at the St. Marys Memorial 3-yard line.Ironton ran 10 plays from scrimmage and scored 44 first-half points in a 58-0 shutout victory at Uniontown (Pa.). Uniontown had just three plays that gained yardage, as the hosts had no first downs and minus-23 total yards. Ironton considered dropping this game to play Highland, whose game against Barberton was abruptly canceled.Lexington's Joe Caudill completed 9-of-9 passes for 147 yards and three touchdowns during a 41-7 dismantling of West Holmes. Shelby's Brayden DeVito completed 9-of-14 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 130 yards and two more scores on eight carries in a dominant 52-14 win over Clear Fork. Brady Bowman caught six passes for 209 yards and three scores and added a 64-yard interception return for a TD, as well as a fumble recovery. Sam Gwirtz had nine tackles (2 for loss) and a 67-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. Ashland Crestview's Liam Kuhn completed 11-of-18 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns during a 30-21 win over St. Paul. He also ran for 87 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and had an interception on defense. Marc Kirkendall threw for 329 yards and four TDs as Leipsic improved to 7-0 for the first time since 2019 with a 32-14 victory over McComb. Marquise Williams pulled down three catches for 156 yards and two TDs. Quarterback Conner Barbara threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another TD and returned an interception 100 yards for a fifth score as Liberty-Benton beat Pandora-Gilboa 42-9. The win sets up a Blanchard Valley Conference showdown with Leipsic, which is also 7-0, 5-0.In a battle of unbeaten Western Buckeye League teams, visiting Wapakoneta took down Lima Shawnee 42-14. Quarterback Caleb Moyer completed 17-of-20 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two other scores. Jarrett Mullen caught two touchdown passes and had an interception.The stars were out when Bluffton faced Convoy Crestview in a matchup of 5-1 teams. Tayte Giesige, Bluffton's junior quarterback, completed 9-of-13 passes for 233 and two touchdowns and ran for 138 yards and another score in leading a 49-34 Northwest Conference victory. Crestview's Braxton Leeth, who entered the game leading the state in scoring (146 points) and No. 2 in rushing yards (1,416), ran for 396 yards and five TDs.Since opening the season with losses to Pandora-Gilboa (4-3), Liberty-Benton (7-0) and Patrick Henry (6-1), Columbus Grove has outscored the opposition 175-7 during a four-game winning streak. All have come in Northwest Conference play, but the Bulldogs, now tied for first place, face a challenging stretch run against Convoy Crestview (5-2, 3-1), Lima Central Catholic (7-0, 4-0) and Bluffton (6-1, 3-1).North Baltimore ran its winning streak to seven games — its best start since 1995 — with a 42-12 win over Morral Ridgedale.Larkin Thomas and Will Strong twice connected on fourth-down touchdown passes to keep Tippecanoe unbeaten in a 16-14 win at Xenia. Preston Harding hit a 19-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to put Tipp ahead. Xenia's Deaunte White had 195 rushing yards, and his fourth quarter touchdown run saw Xenia be the first team to lead Tipp this season. White also became the school's career rushing yards leader.Quarterback Ike Brown completed 15-of-23 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown and ran 11 times for 56 yards and two touchdowns in Bellevue's 28-14 Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division win over Huron.Receiver Kale Bailey caught a 9-yard touchdown from Jake Bouy with 12 seconds remaining as Margaretta upset Division VI No. 2 Hopewell-Loudon 29-26. The loss snapped H-L's 31-game Sandusky Bay Conference River Division winning streak.Coldwater quarterback Karsyn Homan passed for 232 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 137 yards, including a 97-yard score, in a 42-7 win over Delphos St. John's.St. Henry quarterback Charlie Werling passed for 141 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 127 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-7 win over Rockford Parkway. St. Henry led 22-0 at the end of the first quarter and 43-0 at the half.Gavin Phillips returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown in Valley View's 47-0 win over Madison. Brody Welfare and Anthony Valenti also had interceptions.Jay Greenberg kicked second-half field goals from 32 and 34 yards to help Springboro knock off Beavercreek 13-6. Senior Lance Cantrell ran for 176 yards and three touchdowns in leading Talawanda to a 35-3 win over Northwest. Cantrell now has 1,711 yards and 23 touchdowns as Talawanda is 7-0 heading into a key Southwest Ohio Conference matchup with Harrison.Playing in his first game of the season, McConnelsville Morgan Senior Hayden Bankes made his presence felt in a big way in the fourth quarter by intercepting two John Glenn passes in the end zone. The second, with 16.3 seconds left, sealed the dramatic 21-14 homecoming win. Running back Tanner Bankes rushed for 216 yards and two scores.Beverly Fort Frye scored 35 first-quarter points on the way to a 55-0 victory over Greenbrier West (W. Va.). Gavin Rauch had touchdown runs of 22 and 37 yards and also caught a 42-yard TD. Tyce Beardsley rushed for 108 yards on just two carries, including a 45-yard score.Backfield mates Hayden Groll and George Eggers continued to make program marks in Napoleon's fourth straight win, a 48-14 rout of Holland Springfield. Groll rolled up 229 yards and four TDs, bringing him to 1,095 yards on the season to rank seventh in school history. Eggers scored two TDs and rushed for 149 yards on 17 carries, becoming the program's career rushing TD leader (36). With 38 total career TDs, the senior is six away from tying the record of 44. In a game featuring teams with a combined seven straight losses, Defiance and Kenton played to the wire and then some in a wild 43-42 overtime win for Defiance. Defiance took a 28-7 first-half lead, aided by three INTs by senior safety Jordyn Wright to tie a school record, before Kenton rallied from 35-21 down in the fourth quarter to force OT with 2:09 left. In overtime, both teams scored TDs on their possessions, but down 42-41, Defiance eschewed a game-tying PAT attempt and ran a reverse pass, with Reid Rowlison finding fellow freshman Easton Wagner wide open for the game-winning conversion. Kelten Gibbs had 35 rushes for 215 yards and four TDs while catching five passes for 70 yards with a 20-yard TD reception. Freshman Xavier Gammon was 26-of-36 for 352 yards and rushed for 78 yards and four total TDs for Kenton.Sophomore quarterback Maddox Pinter had a career day in Archbold's 35-0 win over rival Wauseon, completing 23-of-29 passes for 313 yards and five touchdowns. Pinter connected for scores to four receivers, including four completions to Morgan Harris for 107 yards and two TDs. Archbold beat Wauseon for the ninth straight season.Another week, another multi-score week with gaudy yard-per-carry numbers for Liberty Center junior running back Garrison Kruse. The two-way standout rushed seven times for 202 yards (28.9 average) and three TDs as the No. 1 Tigers rolled up 505 yards rushing in a 57-7 demolition of Evergreen. Kruse is averaging 16.3 yards per carry (58 rushes, 944 yards, 18 TDs) as the Tigers tied a Northwest Ohio Athletic League record with its 30th straight conference win.Sophomore Mateo Gomez threw six touchdown passes to five receivers while attempting just 15 passes (10-for-15, 198 yards) as Holgate demolished Oregon Cardinal Stritch 60-6 in a Northern 8 Football Conference game that was called with 2:36 left in the third quarter.Running back DeAunte White set the Xenia career rushing record during a 16-14 defeat against Tippecanoe, achieving 195 yards and one touchdown. The previous record was set in 2004 by Cedric Tolbert Jr., who had 2,931 yards. White now has 3,096 yards and is just five touchdowns from breaking that career record of 49. Massillon running back Savior Owens contributed to a 28-14 win over an out-of-state opponent, Cardinal Ritter (Mo.), amassing 168 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. Savior is the younger brother of former Massillon and Copley quarterback DaOne Owens, who currently plays for Slippery Rock University. Another record was established by West Jefferson quarterback Austin Buescher, who achieved the school's standard for career passing yards with 10,578 during a 55-7 victory against Triad. Buescher completed 21-of-22 attempts for 413 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for two more touchdowns. Junior running back Fernando Poxes carried 31 times for 292 yards and five touchdowns in Portsmouth's 48-26 Ohio Valley Conference victory at Fairland. Portsmouth West extended its winning streak over Lucasville Valley to six with a 44-20 Southern Ohio Conference Division II triumph. Braden Adkins returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, made four receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns and added two interceptions. The Senators scored 32 of their 44 points in the second half. Portsmouth Notre Dame is 7-0 for the first time since 2000 following a 70-0 Southern Ohio Conference Division I victory at Franklin Furnace Green. The Titans tallied 42 first-quarter points and surpassed their season high of 56 points against South Gallia in Week 6. Notre Dame hosts fellow 7-0 Pike Eastern for first place in the SOC I. In a surprise result, Springfield jumped on Huber Heights Wayne and ran off to a 42-14 win. Junior quarterback Chris Wallace Jr. had a banner night, going 21-for-32 for 255 yards and four TDs, with two going to junior wide receiver Braylon Keyes (7 receptions, 114 yards). Kettering Archbishop Alter's Drew Cripps had a 85-yard Kickoff return, an interception and two touchdown runs (6 rushes, 88 yards) to lead a 47-7 win over Franklin Bishop Fenwick.Clinton-Massie scored four touchdowns in the final 2:45 of the first half en route to a 38-7 win over Wilmington Friday. The Falcons scored at 2:45, 1:18, 9.5 seconds and 0 seconds.For the third time this season, Blanchester's Ayden Basham ran for better than 250 yards, this time in a 36-6 win over Clermont Northeastern. Basham had 251 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. He has rushed for at least 138 yards in every game with has a season best of 254 against Goshen.