by Euclid, Ohio – Behind their outstanding ground and pound offense, the Carey Blue Devils defeated the New Middletown Springfield Tigers, 26-13, Saturday night.
It was a cold, blustery, and snowy affair all throughout the evening. There would not be much, if any, passing throughout the night.
After both teams traded punts in the first quarter, Carey struck first, and capped their drive with a three-yard touchdown run from Jordan Vallejo.
Youngstown State commit Beau Brungard took a keeper 80 yards to the house. The ensuing PAT was no good, and Carey held a 7-6 lead.
Carey responded in turn.
They went back to their ground game, parlaying carries by Vallejo into first downs and moving the ball down the field with precision.
The Blue Devils capped the scoring drive with a 15-yard touchdown run from junior Landon Kemerley. The two point try failed, and the Blue Devil lead held at 13-6.
Carey continued their success on the ground in the second half.
Vallejo rushed for his second touchdown from five yards out to increase the lead to 20-6 with 5:22 left in the third.
Nick Slike took the ensuing kickoff 65 yards into Carey territory.
Beau Brungard took it in from ten yards out for his second score of the game. This decreased the NM Springfield deficit to 20-13 with 3:48 left.
Jordan Vallejo scored for the third time from seven yards out to increase the Blue Devil lead to 26-13 with 10:15 left.
New Middletown Springfield looked to counter, but a huge drop of a wide open pass thwarted those plans. Not too long after, Carey recovered a fumble on defense.
The Blue Devils melted off around six minutes of the clock by riding the legs of Vallejo and senior quarterback Derek Lonsway. However, the Springfield defense made a goal-line stand.
They took over with 1:31 left. Thanks to a hook-and-ladder, the Tigers got the ball at midfield. But Bryce Conti picked off a Brungard pass to seal it for the Blue Devils.
Senior running back Jordan Vallejo had 14 carries for 148 yards and three scores. Senior quarterback Derek Lonsway had 11 carries for 88 yards.
Carey will play for a championship for the first time since 1975. They will take on the Coldwater Cavaliers, who won their state semifinal, 35-13, over West Jefferson. The game will take place next Saturday night in Canton.
In a losing effort, Beau Brungard had 11 carries for 121 yards and two scores. The Tigers end their season at 13-2.
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Good luck BLUE DEVILS