CAREY (Crawford County Now) — Carey ‘Dashed’ past Colonel Crawford to take sole possession of the conference.
The Blue Devils running game used several big plays from Dash Puckett for a tough 24-14 in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference showdown victory here Friday night.
The 215-pound senior ran 20 times for 203 yards with touchdown bursts of 62 and 65 yards as the Eagles suffered their first loss of the season.
“They’re a great football team,” Colonel Crawford head coach Jake Bruner said. “People think because they lost three games … their first three opponents are the toughest of anybody in our conference. Give them credit for the schedule they did, and they just do a great job. A typical Carey team.”
Typical — as in a potent ground attack and physical style of play.
Colonel Crawford (7-1, 4-1) gave up 349 yards rushing, while being held to 222 total yards.
Puckett’s first touchdown from 62 yards set the tone. His 65-yard burst two minutes into the third quarter gave the Blue Devils a 14-0 lead and forced the Eagles to throw the ball.
Brayden Holt connected on 12-of-15 passes for 158 yards. The big one was a 65-yard beauty to John DeGray in the middle of the field that cut the lead to 14-7 less than three minutes into the second half.
“There was a lot of turnovers early. But our inability to find the open guy, and then just not being able to finish a drive with points really ended up hurting us,” Bruner said.
Carey’s defense came in first in the league giving up just 145 yards per contest. The Blue Devils move to 5-3 overall, 5-0 in the N10.
“Our defense found itself in the Lima Central Catholic game (a 6-0 loss) and has just gotten better and better. We were pretty low after that Galion game and last time I checked LCC was 7-0,” Mershman said. “Our defense has found its identity as a group.”
Bruner acknowledged the Blue Devils efforts.
“We gave up the big play and our tackling, at key points of the game, was a problem for us. Their kids are pretty good at what they do. We didn’t score in the first half and they’re a great defense. They will stop the run at times.”
Leading 17-14, Carey head coach Jonathon Mershman was faced with a fourth and two at the Eagles 48 with 2:54 remaining to seal the game.
He didn’t give the ball to either Dash or Mace Puckett (22 carries for 91 yards) or Carter Bame (8 rushes for 22 yards).
Instead he chose to put the ball in the hands of Eli Steen, the 230-pound senior who has seen limited duty since a knee injury in the first week.
“You know, I just thought he’s been really working hard on coming back. His blocking has been good. It just felt like one of those moments, a moment for him to shine.”
Steen barreled ahead for the yardage, with a measurement showing he made the first down by inches.
Dash Puckett added runs of 32 and 6 yards before Tripp Phoenix’s 7-yard TD run made the final 24-14.
“I trust Eli, a three-year starter coming in, and eight plays into that Hopewell-Loudon game we thought all things were lost. But he’s enjoying a second chance.”
“We couldn’t consistently do it. We got a penalty on first down for jumping offsides. We were kind of our own nemesis offensively,” Bruner said.
“We did stop a lot of plays defensively. But we gave the big plays, at the wrong times.”
Puckett’s two long runs, mixed in with short-yardage gains by his brother Mace and Bame kept the Eagles on their heels.
“The Puckett boys played really well tonight. Dash found those seams and came out like a jet. Mace got us all those tough yards,” Mershman said.
“Our offensive line played amazing. They were outsized and I couldn’t be more proud of them and that includes our three tight ends.”
With two games remaining, Bruner remains optimistic.
“I told the guys before we got here we’re going to have a great season, as long as we stay focused on our goals as a team. There’s a lot we can control or could have controlled tonight, but we obviously didn’t. It’s awfully hard to be a football team that wins every game, no matter what conference you’re in.
“I love our guys, and we have to find a way to get better and use this as fuel to finish the regular season the right way and head into the playoffs.”
Colonel Crawford was third in Division VI, Region 23. The loss could likely drop them to fifth, meaning they would host a first-round playoff game.
Connor McMichael had 62 yards on 15 carries. Parker Weithman added 56 yards on 6 catches.
Payne DeGray had several tackles for loss, including on a third and nine at the Eagles 44 that stopped a third quarter drive. Dom Dean’s fumble recovery stopped a Carey drive in the first quarter.
Crawford visits Upper Sandusky, then hosts Wynford to close the regular season.
Carey hosts Mohawk Friday, followed by Bucyrus.
“We play a really tough opponent that played Crawford to 24-21. You watch that tape and you feel bad because Mohawk dropped that punt late in the game and gave Crawford a short field,” Mershman said.
“It’ll be another grind-it-out game. We’ll need to bring our lunch pails and go to work.”
Box score
Score by quarters
Colonel Crawford 0 0 7 7 — 14
Carey 6 0 8 10 — 24
Scoring summary
First quarter
C — Dash Puckett 62 run (kick failed), 7:13.
Third quarter
C — Dash Puckett 65 run (Mace Puckett run), 10:10.
CC — John DeGray 65 pass from Brayden Holt (Joseph Zizzo kick), 9:19.
Fourth quarter
C — Lucas Smith-Hayward 24 field goal, 10:01.
CC — Connor McMichael 7 run (Zizzo kick), 6:49.
C — Tripp Phoenix 7 run (Smith-Hayward kick), 1:18.
Individual statistics
Passing
Colonel Crawford: Brayden Holt 12-15-0 158, Peyton Baker 1-9-0 1; Carey: Dash Puckett 1-1-0 12, Tripp Phoenix 1-1-0 5.
Rushing
Colonel Crawford: Connor McMichael 15-62, Brayden Holt 1-6, Peyton Baker 3-(-5); Carey: Dash Puckett 20-203, Mace Puckett 22-91, Tripp Phoenix 4-27, Carter Bame 8-22, Eli Steen 2-6.
Receiving
Colonel Crawford: John DeGray 3-79, Parker Weithman 6-56, Roen Thew 3-19, Jacob Cochran 1-5; Carey: Tripp Phoenix 1-12, Dash Puckett 1-5.
Team statistics
CC C
First downs 9 12
Rushing 19-63 56-349
Passes 13-24-0 2-3-0
Yards passing 159 17
Total yards 222 366
Fumbles-lost 4-1 1-1
Penalties 5-41 4-30