Pirates cut down Oaks to stay undefeated

OAK HILL — Coming off an emotional upset win over Ironton, the Wheelersburg Pirates had to shift their focus back to league play and avoid a hangover.

Well unfortunately for Oak Hill, the Pirates stayed focused and scored at will on Friday night to rout the Oaks 52-8 in a Southern Ohio Conference game.

One of the heroes of last weeks' win, Elijah Brown, picked up where he left off with 3 touchdowns in the first quarter. Brown scored twice on the ground with short runs. The senior also scooped up the ball after blocking a punt and returned it the final 7 yards for the score to put the Pirates ahead 14-0.

Wheelersburg got on the board just 42 seconds into the game on an 18-yard burst from Stephen Hall. Cooper Heimbach split the sticks to make it 7-0.

Brown followed things up with his blocked punt return and two scores to make it 28-0 after one.

The Pirates continued to extend their lead even further in the second quarter, when Braylon Rucker connected with Xavier Miller for a 6-yard touchdown toss nearly two minutes into the second frame.

Since the Pirates didn't punt, Heimbach still managed to show off his leg with a 34-yard field goal to extend the lead further.

Wheelersburg led 38-0 at the break, triggering the OHSAA's 35-point running clock rule to begin the second half.

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The Oaks finally broke the shutout in the late stages in the third, when Jeremiah Gibbs was able to get the ball across the plane for a 3-yard score. Issac Campbell ran in for the two-point conversion to make the score 38-8 at the 2:30 mark of the third.

Wheelersburg's backups found the end zone twice in the final quarter to finish off the scoring.

The first score came when Cannan Arthur nosed across from 2 yards out. Then Hunter Bivens added the extra point to extend the lead back out to 45-8.

Nelson Arthur scored the final touchdown of the night on a 2 yard run. Gabe Campbell came on and added the extra point to make the final score.

The Pirates return home next Friday to entertain the Waverly Tigers. The Oaks travel to Lucasville Valley.

Wheelersburg 28 10 0 14 = 52

Oak Hill 0 0 8 0 = 8

First Quarter

Wh —Stephen Hall 18 run (Cooper Heimbach kick), 11:18.

Wh —Elijah Brown blocked punt and 7 return (Cooper Heimbach kick), 9:01.

Wh —Elijah Brown 2 run (Cooper Heimbach kick), 6:06.

Wh —Elijah Brown 1 run (Cooper Heimbach kick), 1:16.

Second Quarter

Wh — Xavier Miller 6 pass from Braylon Rucker (Cooper Heimbach kick), 10:09

Wh — Cooper Heimbach 34 field goal, 4:48.

Third Quarter

OH — Jeremiah Gibbs 3 run (Issac Campbell run), 2:30.

Fourth Quarter

Wh — Canaan Arthur 2 run (Hunter Bivens kick), 10:40.

Wh — Nelson Arden 2 run (Gabe Campbell kick), 1:10.

———————

Wh OH

First downs 22 5

Rushes-yards 23-139 25-64

Passing yards 153 38

Total yards 292 102

Cmp-Att-Int 12-13-1 5-8-0

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-yards 0-0 1-3

Punts-average 0-0.0 6-21.67

Time of Poss. 20:08 23:33

———————

Individual Leaders

RUSHING — Wheelersburg: Stephen Hall 3-36 TD, Damian Brannigan 2-27, Cannan Arthur 2-16 TD, Jack Doerr 5-16, Logan Whitt 1-10, Elijah Brown 3-9 2-TD, Brady Music 2-8, Brycen Longfellow 1-8, Lane Williams 2-4, Nelson Arden 1-4, Jonah Collier 1-1; Oak Hill: Von Smittle 4-41, Jeremiah Gibbs 7-9 TD, Landon Osborne 10-8, Beau McNeal 4-3.

PASSING — Wheelersburg: Braylon Rucker 8-8-0 113 TD, Jack Doerr 4-5-1 40; Oak Hill: Landon Osborne 5-8-0 38.

RECEIVING — Wheelersburg: Jonah Collier 3-45, Kenyon Evans 2-31, Hunter Bivens 2-14, Bryson Montavon 1-18, Landon McGraw 1-13, Brady Doss 1-9, Lane Williams 1-8, Xavier Miller 1-6 TD, Brew Hanzel 1-4;

MISSED FIELD GOALS — None.