Dayton Christian 47 Gamble Montessori 6

 

First I wanted to give a shout-out to the man running the clock and the PA announcer for the rosters and the seat in the press box.

Saturday afternoon took me back to Stargell Stadium in Cincinnati to watch the matchup between Dayton Christian and Gamble Montessori. The Warriors came into the game 4-3, losing two in a row, while the hometown Gators came in 3-4 on a two-game losing streak. In watching the teams warm up, I noticed that the Gators look flat, while the Warriors seemed to have some giddy-up and go in their step.

The Warriors defense set the tone early when Eli Queen threw Qevon "NuNu" Wathel down for a loss of six. After the Warriors offense got on the field, they needed to go just 30 yards for their first score. It would take them three plays, with Brody Schmidt finding Caden Shepherd for the 13-yard score. Schmidt ran for 17 yards on two carries before throwing the touchdown, making the score 6-0, with 9:20 left in the quarter.

Gamble, would get a 65-yard run for a score from Q'moni Bankhead. A two-point conversion try resulted in Bankhead being sacked by Shepherd.

Facing a fourth and five, with 7:41 left in the quarter Schmidt found Braylen Biffle for 6 yards. Schmidt would find a wide-open Shepherd for a gain of 32 on the next play. Schmidt rushed for 13 yards to set up a first and goal from the one. Schmidt would cap off the 10-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. Jeff Knox did the snapping, Cameron Harman did the holding, and Elliot Newton did the making of the PAT to make this a 13-6 game, with 5:23 showing on the first quarter clock.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Gators return man watched the ball bounce on the turf as Joe Jenkins flew downfield to dive on the ball, putting the Warriors offense right back on the field, on the Gators 13-yard line. Schmidt would rush for the 13-yard score three plays later to make this a 20-6 game, with 4:20 left in the long opening quarter.

Things would continue to go badly for the Gatos when Diagourga coughed the ball up, and making the recovery for the Warriors was Colton Stowers, with 2:51 left. From there, Schmidt found Cameron Hartman for 30 yards on a fourth-and-five play. Schmidt ended the 7-play, 60-yard drive with a 9-yard gut run. Schmidt then found Shepherd for the two-point conversion, making this a 28-7 game, with 0:33 left on the clock.

After Diagourga ran for 41 yards, he threw a pick to Kai Millar. The quarter ended with King McCary picking off a Schmidt pass.

Bankhead would be sacked by Jackson Orth for a loss of seven with 10:26 left in the half. Bankhead would throw a pick to Caden Shepherd at the 9:47 mark of the quarter.

Schmidt used his legs to pick up 44 yards, with 9:21 showing on the clock. The drive came to an abrupt halt when Culter fumbled the ball and Massila Diawara pounced on it, with 8:07 showing on the clock.

Bankhead picked up 35 yards to get things started for the Gators on the drive. Cortez Reed was hit by Joe Jenkins, causing a fumble that the Warriors Grayson Rhodes recovered, with 6:16 left in the half. Almost two minutes later Schmidt coughed the ball up, and making the recovery for the Gators was Jami Jackson.

The final big play of the half came when Schmidt was picked off by Massila “Red” Diawara.

With a running clock going throughout the 2nd half, it flew by. With 6:48 left in the third quarter Schmidt ended a 10-play, 55-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, making this a 34-6 game. Then at the 2:21 mark of the quarter James Weldon would get a pick six for the Warriors to make this a 41-6 game.

In the final stanza Jackson Orth sacked Gators quarterback Cortez Reed for a loss of eleven. Culter ended the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run to make the final score 47-6.

On the ensuing kickoff, Logan Orwick would recover a Gators fumble, putting icing on the win.

My Stats

Dayton Christian

58 plays

425 yards

Passing, 14-26, 1 TD, 2 Ints

Gamble

32 plays

163 yards

Passing, 6-12 3 Ints

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