LUCKEY — It was a daunting task that proved to be too much for Eastwood Friday night.
Needing to beat the state’s No. 1 team in Division V to make the playoffs, the Eagles were out-gained
379-89 in total offense in a 35-0 loss to Patrick Henry. CLICK
HERE TO VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
The Patriots dominated in every facet.
Justin Buenger ran for 137 yards on 21 carries and scored four touchdowns for the Patriots, while Luke
George added 83 yards and Bill Miller had 75 yards. PH ran for 313 yards.
PH scored on three of its first four possessions and had 14 first downs in the first half, while the
defense held Eastwood to three straight three-and-outs and 60 yards.
The Patriots led 21-0 at halftime as Buenger scored on runs of 1 and 2 yards and Miller added a 6-yard
scoring run as PH improved to 9-0 overall. The Eagles dropped to 7-2.
“They’re pretty good,” said Eagle coach Jerry Rutherford. “There’s a reason they’re the No. 1 ranked team
in the state.”
Eastwood, which came in ranked eighth in the latest Division IV Region 14 computer rankings, will likely
miss the playoffs even with a win against Gibsonburg next week. It is the second time team the Eagles
have lost to a ranked team this season, their only other loss coming to Genoa (No. 4 in Division IV)
54-11 on Oct. 2.
“If you’re going to do anything in the playoffs, you’re going to have to play good football teams,” said
Rutherford. “We’ve found out that we’re lacking in some things and we need to improve on them in the
off-season.”
On a rain-soaked field after near monsoon conditions prior to kickoff, a 49-yard kickoff return by
Buenger had PH in business on the Eagle 46. Nine plays later, Buenger capped the drive with a 1-yard run
to give PH 7-0 lead 3:33 into the game.
Buenger — who had 1,295 yards rushing and 27 total touchdowns coming in — scored again on the Patriots’
next possession, capping the drive with a 2-yard run as Eastwood’s offense sputtered.
“We knew we couldn’t go three-and-out after that opening drive of theirs,” said Rutherford. “Then we got
down 14-0 and you can’t be down 14-0 to this team. We had to put some drives together right away like
the one we had before the half.”
Down 21-0 with 5:21 to go in the half with no first downs and minus-6 yards offense, the Eagles put
together a 14-play drive, 63-yard drive to get the ball to the Patriot 2. But out of timeouts with time
running down, the Eagles couldn’t score when the quarterback bobbled an exchange from center and time
expired.
“We drove it down there and were going to throw a pass on second down, but there was a guy on our main
option at the line of scrimmage,” said Rutherford. “Then we were going to run off-tackle from the one
and fumbled the snap and that was the half.”
The Patriots had 244 yards in the first half as Eastwood had no answers for PH’s front seven, recording
31 yards in the air and 29 on the ground.
“We have an excellent rush defense,” said PH coach Bill Inselmann, whose team has given up 674 yards on
the ground all season. “Our Achilles’ heel so far has been in our passing defense, but our defense was
very strong tonight.”
“(PH’s) defensive line and linebackers were the key,” said Rutherford, whose team averages 295 yards on
the ground. “We thought there were some things we could do on offense, but they always stepped up and
there was always someone there.”
Eastwood finished with 34 yards on the ground on 27 carries. The Patriots racked up 155 yards rushing in
the second half, scoring two more touchdowns to pull away.
PH had 25 first downs to seven for the Eagles, who will look to end on a positive note at Gibsonburg.
“We have one more shot and we’ll regroup and see what happens,” said Rutherford. “We’re going to try and
finish 8-2 and there is nothing wrong with that.”
PATRICK HENRY 35, EASTWOOD 0
PATRICK HENRY
14
7
7
7
—35
EASTWOOD
—0
PH — Buenger, 1 run (L. Creager kick)
PH — Buenger, 2 run (L. Creager kick)
PH — Miller, 6 run (L. Creager kick)
PH — Buenger, 5 run (L. Creager kick)
PH — Buenger, 10 (L. Creager kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
Category
PH
E
First downs
25
7
by rushing
22
3
by passing
2
4
by penalty
1
Total net yards
379
89
Rushing
313
34
Passing
66
55
Attempts
8
17
Completions
4
6
Interceptions
1
Punts/average
1/43.0
6/40.8
Penalties/yards
4/38
2/10
Fumbles/lost
2/1
1/0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: (PH) L. George, 16-83; Buenger, 21-137; Miller, 12-75; Spence, 3-4; Ziegler, 4-14; (E) Ruch,
5-(minus 28); C. Seifert, 5-12; Conner, 14-34; Tijerina, 2-14; Rolf, 1-2.
PASSING: (PH) L. George, 1-2-0—15; Spence, 3-6-0—51; (E) Ruch, 6-17-1—55.
RECEIVING: (PH) A. George, 1-15; Tonjes, 2-23; L. George, 1-28; (E) Rolf, 2-21; Rogers, 3-30; Bockbrader,
1-4.
Photo caption: Eastwood’s Clay Rolf (with ball) is tackled against Patrick Henry (Photo by Andrew
Weber/Sentinel-Tribune).