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CADIZ--One key statistic pretty much sums up how Harrison Central’s night went against visiting Beaver Local. The Beavers scored three pix sixes--in a row.
Yes, it was that kind of night, one that head coach Anthony Hayes won’t soon forget, although they’d like to.
Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the Huskies, whether it was the three interceptions, three fumbles, or the 99-yard touchdown run by Beavers speedster Caleb White that started the onslaught.
The result was a humbling 65-7 loss to the Beavers that left Hayes shouldering the blame but also questioning the effort of some of his players.
"That was not a very good effort by us, and I think that falls on me so I’ll take the blame for it. It starts with me," Hayes said. "We’ve got to figure some things on and do some soul searching, figure out what it is we want to do and who were are. I think between now and Monday, we’ll have a good idea on how much we’ll be moving forward."
Harrison received the opening kickoff and picked up its initial first down before being forced to punt. A booming kick and favorable roll allowed the ball to be downed at the Beaver Local 1-yard line, setting the Huskies’ defense up in excellent position.
Then White happened. The senior all-Ohio sprinter took the ball around the left side and raced 99 yards down the sidelines, breaking a couple tackles en route to the end zone.
By the time Harrison recorded its next first down on an 11-yard run by Mykel Quito, the visitors had ripped off 25 points.
Quarterback Austin Cline followed White’s lengthy jaunt by finding Dylan Ferguson crossing the field after rolling to his right for a touchdown. Those two later hooked up on a 54-yard scoring connection on the exact same play.
Harrison lost the first of what became three fumbles, and while the visitor’s drive stalled, Kaleb Mays booted a 31-yard field goal that easily cleared the crossbar.
The Huskies’ next drive resulted in a bunt, but the snap sailed high and into the end zone, resulting in a safety.
Hayden Beabout’s 4-yard TD run closed out the first-quarter scoring.
"It was a good night," Beaver coach Mike McKenzie offered. "It started when Caleb gave us a ton of momentum with that play. They pinned us on the half yard line and he takes it 99 yards. He has a lot of speed.
"But I love that we’re unselfish and no one is worried about if I’m getting my touchdowns. I think we had like six guys with 100 yards receiving (or more) coming in and being able to spread it around makes us diverse offensively."
Harrison finally got on the board when Hayden Cassidy found Parker Hutton from 19 ayrds out with 5:29 left before halftime.
Cline followed by throwing successive TD passes for Ferguson (54 yards) and White (10 yards) to close out the first half.
Harrison didn’t give up, but the wind noticeably was removed from the Huskies’ sails, a fact not lost on their head coach.
"Not a very good effort. In all of my years, effort has never been a question here at Harrison Central," Hayes said. "Not as an assistant and not as a head coach. We had some questionable effort (Friday)."
The third and fourth quarters saw three straight Huskies drives end with a pick six, one each from Beebout, Tyler Prideau, and Keaton Heddlestone.
A Taylor Johnston 6-yard run capped the scoring late in the fourth.
Life doesn’t get any easier for the Huskies next week. After tough losses to both St. Clairsville and now Beaver Local, Harrison hits the road to face unbeaten Edison.
The Beavers, meanwhile, improved to 5-2 and play host to Indian Creek.
White finished with 147 yards rushing and 44 receiving with one touchdown apiece for the Beavers while Cline threw for 208 yards and three scores.
Cassidy threw for 118 yards and a TD.
Beaver Local 65, Harrison Central 7
Beaver Local 25 13 7 20 - 65
Harrison Central 0 0 0 0 - 7
BL- White 99 run (Mays kick)
BL-Ferguson 24 pass from Cline (pass fails)
BL-Mays FG 31
BL-Safety
BL-Beebout 4 run (Mays kick)
HC-Parker 19 pass from Cassidy (Madzia kick)
BL-Ferguson 54 pass from Cline (Mays kick)
BL-White 10 pass from Cline (Mays kick)
BL-Prideau run
BL- Beebout int return (Mays kick)
BL-Prideau 25 int return (kick fails)
BL-Heddlestone 14 int return (Hall kick)
BL-Johnston 6 run (Hall kick)
Rushing: Beaver Local 24-225-3td (White 6-147-td, Lucas 2-15-td, Johnston 2-10-td); Harrison Central 24-12 (Quito 9-32; Atkins 3-2; Team 1-0; Hyre 1-0; Rinkes 2-(-9), Cassidy 8-(-13)).
Passing: Beaver Local 12-18-208-3td-0x (all by Cline); Harrison Central 10-21-118-td-3x (Cassidy 10-19-118-td-2x; Hyre 0-2-0-x)
Receiving: Beaver Local 12-208-3td (Ferguson 4-124-2td, White 5-44-td, Foster 2-23); Harrison Central 10-118-td (Hutton 5-49; Wurschum 1-10; Jurosko 3-22); Atkins 1-(-5);
First Downs: Beaver Local 19 (); Harrison Central 9
Penalties: Beaver Local 5-40 (); Harrison Central 2-10
Fumbles: Beaver Local 2-1 (); Harrison Central 3-3