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The Tallmadge Blue Devils dominated the Ellet Orangemen as they won with a final score of 45-6.
Ty Hurst, Collin Dixon, and Seth Yacobucci were the star Blue Devils. Dixon gave the offense big play after big play as he went for 223 yards and hauled in two touchdown catches.
Seth Yacobucci was the second favorite target as he hauled in 87 yards and two touchdowns.
Leading the offense was Ty Hurst who threw for 368 yards and 4 touchdowns on 10/16 passing.
The Orangemen struggled but Terrance Thomas and Keyshawn Stephens stood out. Stephens ran for 46 yards on 5 carries, and showed off his leg with great punts. Thomas was the workhorse for Ellet, finishing with 76 yards on 18 carries.
Ellet’s offense struggled to get anything going for large portions of the game, including the opening drive which resulted in a three and out.
After a bobbled punt, Tallamadge found themselves in great field position and took advantage. Ty Hurst found Collin Dixon wide open down the seam for a 31-yard touchdown. They took a 7-0 lead with 10:50 left in the first quarter. Hurst broke the Tallmadge high school record for touchdown passes in a career on that throw.
Ellet’s offense looked disoriented on their next drive, resulting in two offsides, a sack, and a wasted timeout after confusion on fourth down.
Tallmadge ran a trick play on their next drive. Dixon took a handoff then showed off his arm strength with a 21-yard touchdown throw to Seth Yacobucci, giving them a 14-0 lead with 9:01 left in the first.
Ellet then started out with a strong drive after a 19-yard carry by Terrance Thomas, but a holding penalty on the next play killed it.
Collin Dixon continued his big day on the next drive hauling in 40 more yards on two catches, including an impressive one handed grab. Ellet made a strong goal line stand though, holding Tallmadge to a 31-yard field goal by Cameron Carvaines, extending their lead to 17-0 with 3:27 in the first.
After another sloppy Ellet possession, Tallmadge got the ball back and Hurst found Nixon once again. This time across the middle as Nixon broke numerous tackles to take it 74 yards to the house. The Blue Devils led 24-0 with 1:20 in the first.
Ellet had another poor drive, but punter Keyshawn Stephens booted it over 50 yards to down the Blue Devils at the 1.
Facing third and long from his own endzone, Hurst broke a tackle and found Jackson Doughtery for a 44 yard catch and run. Hurst followed it up with a 40 yard touchdown a few plays later to Seth Yacobucci after broken coverage left him wide open down the sidelines, giving the Blue Devils a 31 point lead with 10:21 in the second quarter.
The Orangemen’s lone bright spot came after Isiah Brown burnt his man down the sideline for a 61-yard touchdown pass from Jake Flossie. Tallmadge blocked the PAT and the score was 31-6 with 9:34 in the second.
Tallmadge started the next drive with a 25-yard run by Hurst, but the drive fell off quickly after two drops and a sack.
Ellet punted quickly after another 3 and out. The Blue Devils found more success as Hurst found Zack Vanko alone at the pylon for a 43 yard touchdown, extending the lead to 38-6 with 4:10 left in the half.
After another big punt after a poor Orangmen drive, Tallmadge scored with a high IQ play. Yacobucci made a 26 yard catch but fumbled it. Players stopped playing despite the lack of a whistle, except for Constantine Detorakis who scooped up the fumble and walked in for a 25-yard touchdown, giving the Blue Devils a 45-6 lead right before half.
Ellet made a stop at the beginning of the half, but a fumbled punt return gave the ball right back to the Blue Devils, who were able to drain most of the third quarter before punting.
The fourth quarter was much of the same as both offenses failed to do anything, letting the clock run out.
The player of the game was Collin Dixon. He showed explosive plays as he had 223 yards from scrimmage on the day with 2 touchdowns to go with it. He also completed one pass for 21 yards and a touchdown. Dixon also recorded a sack, forced fumble, and pass defended as he seemingly did it all for Tallmadge.
The Blue Devils will travel to Green to face the Bulldogs, hoping to continue their hot start.
Ellet will look to get back in the Win column as they are home against the Girard Indians.
