BELPRE - Federal Hocking and Belpre duked it out - sometimes literally -in a tough, defensive-minded game with all the scoring done in the first half as the visiting Lancers bested the Golden Eagles 14-7 in a TVC Hocking Division contest Friday night at Ralph Holder Stadium.
Federal, now 4-1, got a pair of touchdown throws from quarterback Kyle Jackson to speedy wide receiver Romie Casey from 35 and 22 yards out, although Belpre, now 1-4, did manage a longer TD pass completion for its score as signal-caller Tavian Miller aired out a 61-yard bomb down the sideline to Cody Martin with 30 seconds left in the first half.
But after that, the scoring dried up in the second half. However, Belpre did threaten twice in the third quarter, reaching the Federal 10 and 12, but no further as fourth-down paases each time fell incomplete.
And the Golden Eagles had another opportunity in the final period after an interception at the Lancer 46 by Caleb Yost with 11:31 to play.
Miller's legs, not arm, carried Belpre into scoring position with runs of 13 and then 12 yards to the Federal 16, followed hy a seven-yard gain by Nate Teeters to the 9.
But a holding penalty and Miller being sacked for minus 6 left Belpre facing a 4th-and-24 at the Lancer 29, and Federal's Ivan Santiago intercepted at the Lancer 5 with 6:50 remaining.
Fact Box
At Ralph Holder Stadium, Belpre
Federal Hocking 14, Belpre 7
Federal (4-1) 7 7 0 0 -- 14
Belpre (1-4) 0 7 0 0 -- 7
SCORING:
F: Romie Casey 35 pass from Kyle Jackson (Terrance Mayle kick), 3:10, 1st
F: Casey 22 pass from Jackson (Mayle kick), 5:59, 2nd
B: Cody Martin 61 pass from Tavian Miller (Jaime Barrett kick), 30,.0 seconds, 2nd
Team stats
Federal: First downs: 17. Rushes-yards: 32-64. Passing yards: 161. Total yards: 225. Passing: 13-22-1. Punts-average: 6-34.1. Fumbles-lost: 1-0. Penalties-yards: 13-112
Belpre: First downs: 12. Rushes-yards: 32-71. Passing yards: 125. Total yards: 196. Passing: 6-21-3. Punts-average: 3-32.0. Fumbles-lost: 4-2. Penalties-yards: 7-57.
Individual leaders
Federal: Rushing: Peyton Seel 9-39, Ivan Santaigo 6-51. Passing: Kyle Jackson 13-22-1, 161 yards, 2 TDs. Receiving: Romie Casey 3-74, 2 TDs; Alex Nichols 2-38, Ivan Santiago 4-14, Delbert Crum 2-18, Andrew Smith 1-14
Belpre: Rushing: Manny Tullius 11-34, Nate Teeters 7-33, Tavian Miller 9-38. Passing: Tavian Miller 6-21-3, 125 yards, TD. Receiving: Cody Martin 3-103, TD; Tyler Martin 2-12, Nate Teeters 1-10
Next games: South Gallia at Federal Hocking 7:30 p.m. Friday; Eastern at Belpre 7:30 p.m. Friday
After Federal ran 4:30 off the clock before surrendering possession, Belpre got the ball with 2:21 left, but Alex Nichols intercepted for the Lancers at their 48 with only 1:22 left to effectively end the game.
Federal foiled an early Belpre scoring threat on the Golden Eagles' first possession of the game as Peyton Seel intercepted after Belpre got to the Lancer 4 and ran it back out to midfield at 6:36 of the opening quarter.
The Lancers went up 7-0 at 3:10 of the first as Jackson connected with Casey on back-to-back passes for 17 and 35 yards for a TD, then found Casey with a 22-yard scoring strike at 5:59 of the second for a 14-0 lead.
Belpre got the ball for the final time in the first half with 1:10 left after blocking a 27-yard Federal field-goal attempt. A 14-yard sideline psss to Tyler Martin and a five-yard Miller scramble preceded Miller letting fly with a 61-yard scoring toss to Cody Martin, who got by his defender down the sideline to snag the TD pass from Miller.
