BELPRE - Federal Hocking and Belpre duked it out 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.
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Photo by Jeff Baughan
Belpre's Nate Teeters, left, breaks away from the attempted tackle of Federal Hocking's Matt Pierce Friday. Federal Hocking scored a 14-7 victory.
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.
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.
