Lions defeat East Clinton 54-20 in homecoming game

New Richmond's defense took charge early and recorded 9 takeaways including interception returns by Michael Skaggs and Andy Case for touchdowns to lead the Lions to a 54-20 victory over East Clinton in the 2009 Homecoming.

Lions fullback Andrew Nealan rushed for 109 yards in 13 carries and one TD, Garrett Myers recorded 68 yards in 11 carries and three TDs and backup fullback Nick Williams gained 61 yards in 9 carries for one TD to help New Richmond build a 54-6 lead midway through the third quarter.

On defense the Lions were led by senior nose tackle Brandon Branson, who recorded six tackles for losses and forced three fumbles.

Lions coach Dan Scholz substituted freely in the second half and played his entire lineup. East Clinton added two fourth quarter scores against New Richmond's freshmen defense.

The win improved New Richmong to 7-0 on the season and 5-0 in the Southern Buckeye Conference and sets up a championship game next Friday at home against Goshen, which won for the fifth straight week with a 50-0 win over Batavia. Goshen also is 5-0 in SBAAC play.

Listen to the game broadcast and postgame interviews at www.newrichmond.localsportsradio.com

Score by Quarters
1 2 3 4 Total
East Clinton 6 0 0 14 -- 20
New Richmond 26 15 13 0 -- 54

1st Quarter

07:41 NR - Myers 1 yd run (Ritter kick), 4-18 1:44 0 - 7
07:02 NR - Nealan 5 yd run (Ritter kick), 3-48 0:39 0 - 14
02:28 NR - Myers 1 yd run (Ritter kick failed), 5-27 2:06 0 - 20
00:23 NR - M.Skaggs 59 yd interception return (Ritter kick blockd) 0 - 26
00:10 EC - Morrow 84 yd kickoff return (Perry kick blockd) 6 - 26

2nd Quarter

09:57 NR - TEAM safety 6 - 28
08:09 NR - Maupin 8 yd run (Maupin kick), 4-38 1:39 6 - 35
01:51 NR - Case 87 yd interception return (Maupin kick blockd) 6 - 41

3rd Quarter

05:22 NR - Myers 7 yd run (Ritter kick blockd), 6-32 3:15 6 - 47
04:12 NR - Williams 15 yd run (Ritter kick), 3-27 1:03 6 - 54

4th Quarter

10:05 EC - Morrow 52 yd run (Perry kick), 6-91 2:45 13 - 54
00:51 EC - Blackburn 27 yd run (Perry kick), 2-25 0:37 20 - 54


RUSHING: East Clinton-Morrow 12-72; Miller 12-52; Blackburn 2-25; Bean 5-8; Akers 2-0; Witkemper 2-minus 11.

New Richmond-Nealan 13-109; Myers 11-68; Williams 9-61; Maupin 4-36; Warden 2-24; Hill
2-21; Mazzaro 1-1; Reid 4-minus 1; M.Skaggs 2-minus 2; Dillow 4-minus 3.

PASSING: East Clinton-Bean 4-8-2-16. New Richmond-Myers 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: East Clinton-Witkemper 2-14; Watson 1-3; Morrow 1-minus 1. New Richmond-.

INTERCEPTIONS: East Clinton-None. New Richmond-Case 1-87; M.Skaggs 1-59.

SACKS (UA-A): East Clinton-None. New Richmond-Mahaffey 1-0.

TACKLES (UA-A): East Clinton-Henderson 8-2; Blackburn 5-2; Witkemper 5-2; Bean 5-0; Houck 4-2; Miller 3-2; Perry 3-2; Seitz 3-0; Watson 3-0; Huffman 2-0; Alexander 1-1; Yancey 1-0; Crow 1-0; Hartley 1-0; Morrow 1-0; Ison 1-0; Blackburn 0-1.

New Richmond-Branson 6-1; Mahaffey 4-1; Glueck 4-1; Jetter 3-2; Case 3-2; D.Scholz 3-1; Gundler 2-2; Deller 2-1; Warden 2-1; Hamilton 2-0; M.Skaggs 2-0; Dillow 1-1; Williams 1-1; Hill 1-1; S.Campbell 1-0; Hayward 1-0; Horn 1-0; McCabe 1-0; Lemar 1-0; Nealan 1-0; Maupin 0-2; Smith 0-1; Ritter 0-1; Chesney 0-1.