Amanda-Clearcreek opened the game scoring on a pick-six and recovered a Logan Elm turnover on the next possession, but the Braves regrouped and had a big offensive night to pick up a 35-14 win over the Aces.
“We put three straight drives together and had back-to-back-to-back scores. We really controlled it from that point forward,” Logan Elm coach Terry Holbert said. “It was a total effort and our defense played well. We were able to run the ball effectively and Aaron had a great night throwing the football.”
Bodie Martin had the pick-six for the Aces and Peyton Beavers recovered the LE fumble inside the Aces’ 10-yard line.
But when the Braves got the ball back after that, they held on to it and started scoring.
Landon Thompson had a 30-yard run that had LE behind 7-6.
Thompson scored again in the second — this time a one-yard run — and Michael Bock ran in the conversion for a 14-7 LE lead.
A 24-yard pass from Aaron Walters to Carson Summers and a Dawsen Hudson kick had LE up 21-7 at the half.
Late in the third quarter, the Braves were going backward as two penalties on the same play helped lead to a third-and-36 from the 38. But Cameron Smith got behind the AC defense and Walters hit him for what ended up being a 62-yard score. This time it was Maggie Wilson kicking the PAT to put LE up 28-7.
LE made it 35-7 on a 14-yard pass from Walters to Camden Redd and Wilson had another PAT for the Braves.
Amanda-Clearcreek wrapped up the night’s scoring with six minutes left in the game on a 25-yard pass from Logan Stevens to Colton Westhoven.
The Braves finished the night with 523 yards of offense to AC’s 149.
“We have a lot of different weapons on the offensive side of the ball, and we do a good job of getting them all involved,” Holbert said. “At times big Cam Redd’s presence on the outside draws a lot of eyes and teams at times have adjusted or over adjusted to him which has allowed some openings in other areas.
“To have the playmakers that we do across the board, teams have to make choices and we’re able to distribute the ball where we have openings and opportunities to make plays.”
Walters threw for 331 yards on 20-29 passing as seven receivers caught passes.
The Braves also ran for 192 yards led by Thompson with 120 on 22 carries.
“That was a big part of our focus coming off last week to re-establish the ground game and be physical in that regard,” Holbert said. “We had success with several different schemes up front and Landon had a great night running the football.
“We talk about the numbers we put up offensively but all of that is attributed to the guys up front.”
Martin led the Aces with 45 yards on 10 carries and Westhoven was the Aces’ leading receiver with six catches for 48 yards.
The win in Week 8 has helped the Braves secure a spot in Week 11 as joeeitel.com has the Braves’ siting sixth in their region and clinching a playoff spot.
“That’s incredibly exciting and I’m really happy as our kids have worked hard and our kids have earned that. But that doesn’t change our focus,” Holbert said. “Our focus right now is next week, to find a way to compete and beat Teays Valley.”
Up next
The Braves (7-1, 4-1) travel to Teays Valley (4-4, 3-2) next week. The Vikings are coming off a 42-7 loss at Bloom-Carroll. The Aces (2-5, 0-5) host Fairfield Union (4-4, 2-3), which beat Circleville 42-0 Friday.
Logan Elm 35, Amanda-Clearcreek 14
By Quarters 1 2 3 4 F
Am.-Clearcreek 7 0 0 7 14
Logan Elm 6 15 7 7 35
First Quarter
AC — Bodie Martin 35 interception return (Dunn kick), 9:40.
LE — Landon Thompson 30 run (kick failed).
Second Quarter
LE — Landon Thomson 1 run (Michael Bock run), 8:52.
LE — Carson Summers 24 pass from Aaron Walters (Dawsen Hudson kick), 3:40.
Third Quarter
LE — Cameron Smith 62 pass from Aaron Walters (Maggie Wilson kick), 2:01.
Fourth Quarter
LE — Camden Redd 14 pass from Aaron Walters (Maggie Wilson kick), 9:01.
AC — Colton Westhoven 25 pass from Logan Stevens (Dunn kick), 6:04.
TEAM STATISTICS
AC LE
First downs 9 27
Rushing yards 29-80 41-192
Passing yards 69 331
Comp.-Att.-Int 9-14-0 20-29-1
Total yards 149 523
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-2
Penalties-Yards 4-53 7-51
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Logan Elm — Landon Thompson 22-120, Michael Bock 13-52, Aaron Walters 5-11, Carson Summer 1-9.
PASSING – Logan Elm — Aaron Walters 20-29-1-331.
RECEIVING – Logan Elm — Camden Redd 4-84, Cameron Smith 2-85, Hunter Kersey 6-70, Keegan Diehl 3-41, Carson Summers 2-28, Landon Thompson 2-17, Michael Bock 1-6.
