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New Richmond tops Norwood for SBAAC title

NEW RICHMOND, Ohio – The New Richmond Lions used a stingy defense defeating the Norwood Indians 35-7, clinching the Southern Buckeye Athletic Conference regular season title.

The Lions out-gained the Indians on offense 409-253 but the real story was its defense forcing five turnovers. New Richmond forced three takeaways in the last four minutes of the contest the put the game out of reach.

New Richmond head coach Josh Stratton (photo by Mike Noyes/TriStateFootball.com)

New Richmond head coach Josh Stratton (photo by Mike Noyes/TriStateFootball.com)

“This is the best defense that I have ever been around,” said New Richmond head coach Josh Stratton. “Guys that have been around here a long time say it’s our best defensive unit ever.”

The offense got things rolling in the early going. The Lions took the opening kickoff and drove down the field scoring the game’s first touchdown. On the eighth play of the drive, quarterback Josh Anderson threw a 16-yard TD pass to Chandler Kinhalt.

Anderson, who is just a sophomore, showed signs of inexperience in the first half by throwing two interceptions. The New Richmond defense refused to allow Norwood, who came into the game averaging 50 points per game during the season, to score on either of the turnovers.

The young quarterback settled down and scored on a 15-yard running play early in the second quarter to give New Richmond a 14-0 halftime advantage.

Norwood came out the locker room for the second half and promptly got its offense back on track. Indians quarterback Matt Goodman capped a nine-play drive with a two-yard scoring run, cutting the New Richmond lead in half to 14-7.

New Richmond was forced to punt on the ensuing drive but pinned Norwood deep in its own territory. Goodman completed a pass to wide receiver Ollohjuwon Wellington who was hit immediately after bringing in the catch by New Richmond’s Jessep Durbin. The ball popped loose and it was picked up by Devon Milton for the scoop and score.

Norwood committed three late turnovers that turned into two New Richmond touchdowns to put the game out of reach. Ethan Gundler intercepted two passes to help lead the way and Milton recovered a pair of fumbles.

New Richmond DB Ethan Gundler (photo by Brady Laber/TriStateFootball.com)

New Richmond DB Ethan Gundler (photo by Brady Laber/TriStateFootball.com)

“We have a different player doing everything. It’s not just one player, its everybody, it’s the whole team,” Gundler said after the game.

Next week playoffs begin and the top eight teams in the Division-III, Region 12 standings qualify to advance. Those teams will not be determined until later in the weekend. Coming into play tonight New Richmond was ranked 4th while Norwood held on to the 8th and final playoff spot.

RECORDS: New Richmond (9-1), Norwood (8-2)

SCORE BY QUARTERS
1 2 3 4 T
Norwood 0 0 7 0 7
New Richmond 7 7 7 14 35

SCORING PLAYS
1st Quarter
NEW – Josh Anderson 16-yard TD pass to Chandler Kinhalt (Clayton Farmer kick)

2nd Quarter
NEW – Josh Anderson 16-yard TD run (Clayton Farmer kick)

3rd Quarter
NOR – Matt Goodman 2-yard TD run (Austin Abbott kick)
NEW – Devon Milton 21-yard fumble recovery TD (Clayton Farmer kick)

4th Quarter
NEW – Josh Anderson 3-yard TD run (Clayton Farmer kick)
NEW – Chandler Kinhalt 2-yard TD run (Clayton Farmer kick)
Brady Laber is a 2009 graduate of Northern Kentucky University. He is in his seventh season with tristatefootball.com and has covered Northern Kentucky high school football since 2006.

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