Barnesville 35, Fort Frye 7

BARNESVILLE — The names on the back of the Barnesville jerseys may change from year to year, but the results continued to be the same for 37th consecutive regular-season game Friday night.

Before a standing-room-only crowd at sun-baked Shamrock Stadium, the hosts scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and the defense pitched a shutout for three-and-a-half quarters in a 35-7 victory over visiting Fort Frye.

Barnesville hasn’t lost a regular-season contest since week 4 of the 2021 season. It is working on three straight 10-0 campaigns.

Winning the opening coin toss, Barnesville took the ball and marched right down the field in 11 plays — all runs — as junior quarter Cole Francis snuck in from a yard out to cap the 44-yard drive. Francis also scampered around right end to make it 8-0.

On the Shamrocks second play of their second series, Koby Jones took a pitch right, broke a tackle and outran everyone down the near sideline for a 65-yard scoring jaunt and a 14-0 lead after the two-point pass was picked off. He also ran 30 yards on a fake punt that led to six points.

Barnesville led 22-0 at the half and never looked back as the defense bottled up the Cadets’ Tyce Beardsley who ran for nearly 1,300 yards a season ago. He carried the ball nine times for 29 yards. As a team, Fort Frye had 134 yards on the ground and just 26 in the air.

Meanwhile, the Shamrocks were piling up 286 yards on 31 totes and scored four touchdowns on the ground as the offensive line, which was a question mark coming into the campaign, of Logan Craker (tight end), Mac Cacioppo (left tackle), Austin Armstrong (left guard), Christien Hannahs (center), Dillon Lucas (right guard) and Gavin Morris (right tackle) dominated in the trenches.

Barnesville’s three-headed monster in the backfield made good use of the blocking as Trey Toliver — despite several episodes of leg cramps — ran for 124 yards on 12 carries, which included a 71-yard sprint up the middle of the field in which he juked a Fort Frye defender at midfield and was off to the races.

Jones added 98 yards on seven carries and Ford finished with four for 24. They all scored touchdowns. Francis completed half of his 12 passes for 73 yards, including a 4-yard lob to Ford in the end zone.

Barnesville remains at home next Friday when Meadowbrook visits to revive the Bill Dowler Trophy game. Fort Frye travels to West Muskingum.

Circleville 16, Warren 15

CIRCLEVILLE — Raymond Ezell’s 6-yard touchdown run at the 8:26 mark in the third quarter put Circleville up for good as the Tigers claimed a 16-15 win over Warren in Friday’s season opener.

Circleville (1-0) struck first in the contest on Kole Nungester’s 14-yard TD run. The extra-point was missed, making it 6-0.

Warren (0-1) answered as quarterback Braylon Murray rushed for a 5-yard score. Jackson Venham’s kick made it 7-6, Warren, with two seconds left in the opening period.

The Tigers made it 9-7 at halftime thanks to Kaden Paxton’s 23-yard field goal with 44 seconds left in the second.

Warren came out of halftime ready to go as Murray found Tanner Pepper for a 45-yard passing touchdown. The extra-point was off the mark, making it 13-9 at the 9:34 mark in the third.

The Warriors trailed by three after Ezell’s touchdown, but they got within one with 5:52 left in regulation when Kolton Venham blocked a punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

However, Circleville held on from there to claim the victory.

Eric Carr carried 31 times for 213 yards to lead the Warren offense. Murray, in his first varsity start at QB, went 8 for 17 passing for 91 yards, a TD and no interceptions. Pepper caught four passes for 65 yards.

The Warriors out-gained the Tigers 342-231 in the game and tallied 21 first downs to Circleville’s nine. Warren, which visits Morgan Friday, lost the turnover battle 2-1.