Local Sports

East Palestine win streak hits three

EAST PALESTINE - The East Palestine Bulldogs didn't start the season the way they hoped, but after a disappointing 33-point loss to Harrison Central in the second week, they have turned things around.

Following a 36-12 victory over the Southern Indians on Friday night, the Bulldogs have now won three straight contests and are sharing the top of the EOAC standings. With the win, they are now 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the league.

"We found the right mindset," said senior RJ May. "Our line has set the tone the past three weeks, and that is really what it is. The big guys up front are making it happen."

"We know each other better. They know our coaching staff better, and we know the kids better. We're practicing harder, and we are more fundamental. I like the way we are prepping each week defensively, and we are starting to get in a groove now," Bulldogs head coach Rick Shepas added as to the reason for the Bulldogs’ turnaround.

Following the loss, the Indians fall to 1-4 on the year and 1-1 in the EOAC. The Indians looked to continue the momentum they built after an important victory over their rival Wellsville last week.

Despite the final score, it was the Indians that controlled the first half of the contest with a punishing rushing attack that chewed up both time and yards. But it was costly penalties and missed opportunities that proved to be a dealbreaker for the Indians in the game.

"It is definitely frustrating when you’re shooting yourself in the foot," Southern coach Jimmy Malone said. "We had success offensively. Three weeks ago, we changed our offense around, and now we are moving the ball. In the first half, we were in it."

After rushing for 107 yards and totaling 142 yards in the half against the Bulldogs’ 68 total first-half yards and 0 rushing yards, the Indians trailed 7-6. After turning the ball over on two long drives, they finally crossed the goal line on a 19-yard pass from quarterback Jack Pitts to Jaylen Pitts at the 4:37 mark of the second quarter.

"They won the line of scrimmage in the first half," said Shepas. "They ran the ball well and had a nice mix offensively, and they controlled it (the game). I think we ran just 12 plays in the first half."

"Yeah, we were definitely getting a little bit frustrated." May said. "We came out the first half, and it wasn't great. We knew that we could play better."

The Indians recovered the ensuing kickoff and appeared to have an opportunity to put a lot of pressure on the Bulldogs, but a fumble that resulted in a six-yard loss, followed by another short loss, put the Indians in a third-and-long situation. A penalty on third down forced the Indians to punt as the Bulldogs’ defense came up with an important stop.

"That hurt us a little bit," Malone said. "We had the momentum rolling. But then a penalty and we are back five. We have to stay on course and go down the field. We have to clean up the little things."

The Bulldogs then answered with a 50-yard pass from quarterback Clark Rutledge to RJ May down the right sideline to give them a slim 7-6 advantage. That score came with just 1:54 remaining in the first half.

On the night, May would rush for 58 yards on 7 carries while also catching 5 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. He was also on the receiving end of a two-point conversion. Clark Rutledge came alive in the second half as he connected on 10 of 12 passes for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Bulldogs then took over the second half as they scored on four consecutive drives, with Rutledge finding Kealin Simon on an 8-yard pass and a 1-yard run by Peyton Rutledge in the third quarter. They added a 19-yard pass from Clark Rutledge to Tanner Morrow, and then Rutledge scrambled around the end on a 15-yard score in the fourth quarter.

"It just came down to fundamental football. Our guys had to make the decision to play lower than them. When we did that, we controlled the line of scrimmage," Shepas said.

"Our coaches got into us a little bit," May said. "We needed that. They knew we weren't playing as well as we should have been, and they got on us. You don't like to get yelled at, and we didn't like it, so we came out and played how we knew we could."

The combination of Jack Pitts and Jaylin Pitts worked again in the third quarter when the two hooked up on a 17-yard scoring strike. At the 4:53 mark of the third quarter, the Indians had made it a 13-12 contest.

The loss overshadowed a tremendous performance by the Indians’ Logan Mettenberger, who rushed for 141 yards on 21 carries as part of their 207 yards on the ground. Quarterback Jack Pitts completed 9 of 14 passes on the night for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns.

"Our guys are coming together as a team," said Malone. "Our league is going to be tough every week. We are a young team, and we are getting better every week."

The Indians will look to bounce back next Friday when they entertain the Columbiana Clippers. The Bulldogs will look to keep the momentum rolling when they travel to Wellsville next Friday.

SO: 0-6- 6- 0--12

EP: 0-7-14-15--36

SCORING

S - Jaylen Pitts 19 pass from Jack Pitts (Run Failed)

E - RJ May 50 pass from Clark Rutledge (Paul Bender Kick)

E - Kealin Simon 8 pass from Clark Rutledge (Kick Failed)

S - Jaylen Pitts 17 pass from Jack Pitts (Run Failed)

E - Peyton Rutledge 1 run (Clark Rutledge pass to Peyton Rutledge)

E - Tanner Morrow 19 pass from Clark Rutledge

E - Clark Rutledge 15 run (Clark Rutledge pass to May)

TEAM STATS

SOUTHERN

First downs: 15; Total yards: 310; Rushes-yards: 43-207, Passing: 103; Comp-Att-Int. 9-14-1; Punts 2-27.5; Fumbles-Lost 2-1; Penalties-Yards 11-95.

EAST PALESTINE

First downs: 14, Total yards: 307, Rushes-yards: 12-57, Passing: 250; Comp-Att-Int. 13-18-0, Punts 1-3, Fumbles-Lost 4-1, Penalties-Yards 4-45.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING--Southern, Logan Mettenberger 21-14, Chase Utt 10-34, Jaylen Pitts 12-32; East Palestine, RJ May 7-58.

PASSING--Southern, Jack Pitts 9-14-1; East Palestine, Clark Rutledge 13-18-0.

RECEIVING--Southern, Jaylen Pitts 3-45, Jaymen Maines 4-34, East Palestine, RJ May 5-105, Braydon Plum 3-80, Tanner Morrow 2-37.

INTERCEPTIONS--East Palestine, Jonathan Geiss.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES--Southern, Aiden Andrenok.