NEW PARIS — National Trail’s football team stepped out of conference play and rolled to a 45-6 win over visiting Batavia on Friday, Sept. 9.
The Blazers returned home after two weeks on the road and continued their solid play as they moved their record to 3-1.
Batavia replaced Bradford on the schedule due to the Railroaders not being able to fill a varsity team this season.
“It was a fine team victory by controlling the special teams, slowing down the Bulldogs passing game and continuing its dominating ground game,” Trail coach Mark Hoffman said.
Offensively, Trail rolled up 470 total yards and scored six touchdowns on the night.
Chase Ruebush led the way with 156 yards rushing and 4 TDs. Jamison Watts and Zack Creager scored the other TDs while Drew DeWitt kicked a 28-yard field goal and three extra points. Burgan Hoffman rounded out the scoring with a 2-point conversion run.
Watts got the scoring started with a 6-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give the Blazers a 6-0 lead.
Ruebush then scored on a 10-yard run for a 13-0 lead. DeWitt added a field to make it 16-0 lead. Ruebush added his second touchdown of the quarter on a 15-yard run to extend the Trail lead to 24-0.
Batavia got within 24-6 late in the half.
In the third, Ruebush added his third touchdown of the game on a 60-yard run to push the Blazer lead to 31-6.
Ruebush’s fourth touchdown, a 20-yard run, gave Trail a 38-6 lead.
Zack Creager rounded out the scoring for Trail with a 25-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Blazers held Batavia to 20 yards rushing and under 200 passing yards, well below their average yards per game.
Phoenix Lewis, Sean Roberts, Brenden Simpson and Logan Smith all recorded quarterback sacks. Watts and Joey Roberts led the team with eight tackles apiece and two pass break ups each. Cayden Clark had an interception while Ruebush recovered a fumble that was forced by a big hit from Jordan Heck.
The Blazers head back into Western Ohio Athletic Conference play when they travel to Dixie for a Thursday Night Lights game. The game will be broadcast live on Channel 22. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
