Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

BIDWELL — It was the balance of the Fairland Dragons that tipped the scales heavily in their direction.

The Dragons racked up 339 yards rushing and 204 passing as they rolled past the River Valley Raiders 47-19 Friday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

“We had good balance on offense. We were able to run the ball and throw it,” said Fairland coach Dave Carroll. “Defensively we played well. They had 125 yards rushing and got about 60 or 70 on that last drive of the game.”

The running game was balanced between Nathan Campbell and Tyree Ceasar. Campbell ran 13 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns while Ceasar carried 18 times for 100 yards and two scores.

Quarterback Chance Short was 10 of 16 passing for 204 yards and two touchdowns as the Dragons finished the season 5-5 and 3-2 in the OVC.

Kyle Sowards caught four passes for 112 yards and at TD while Cody Midkiff had two catches for 29 yards and a score.

The game was the final OVC contest for River Valley (2-8, 1-4) who leaves for the Tri-Valley Conference next year.

The Raiders took a 6-0 lead on a 46-yard pass from Dayton Hardway to Chris Clemente with 3:50 left in the first half.

Fairland came right back with an 84-yard, 9-play drive to take an 8-6 lead. Short hit Sowards with a 53-yard scoring pass.

The two hooked up again for the conversion with 1:06 on the clock.

Fairland recovered a squib kick after the touchdown and went 40 yards in three plays to score with 31 seconds to play. Ceasar ran 4 yards for the touchdown and Short threw to Sowards for the conversion and it was 16-6 at the half.

The Dragons went 61 yards in six plays to score with 7:23 left in the third quarter. Campbell ran 6 yards for the touchdown and Short threw to Campbell for the conversion to make it 24-6.

River Valley went 64 yards in 13 plays capped by Hardway’s 1-yard run to cut the deficit to 24-13. Dustin Shepherd kicked the extra point.

But Fairland came right back with another 61-yard drive in six play that culminated on a 47-yard run by Campbell with 1:14 left in the quarter. Short ran for the extra points and it was 32-13.

Fairland extended the lead to 40-13 to start the fourth quarter on a 27-yard pass from Short to Cody Midkiff to finish off a 57-yards, 5-play drive. Short threw to Campbell for the conversion.

Ceasar ran 16 yards for a touchdown with 6:55 left to cap a 54-yard, 5-play march. Isaiah Vidal kicked the extra point.

River Valley then went 71 yards in five plays as Kyle Brown ran 5 yards for a touchdown with 20 seconds to play.

Fairland 0 16 16 15 = 47

River Valley 0 6 7 6 = 19

Second Quarter

RV — Chris Clemente 46 pass from Dayton Hardway (kick failed) 3:50

Fa — Kyle Sowards 53 pass from Chance Short (Sowards pass from Short) 1:06

Fa — Tyler Ceasar 4 run (Kyle Sowards pass from Chance Short) 0:31

Third Quarter

Fa — Nathan Campbell 6 run (Campbell pass from Chance Short) 7:23

RV — Dayton Hardway 1 run (Dustin Shepherd kick) 3:45

Fa — Nathan Campbell 47 run (Chance Short run) 1:14

Fourth Quarter

Fa — Cody Midkiff 27 pass from Chance Short (Nathan Campbell pass from Short) 11:07

Fa — Tyree Ceasar 16 run (Isaiah Vidal kick) 6:55

RV — Kyle Brown 5 run (kick blocked) 0:20

Team Statistics

Fa RV

First downs 20 13

Rushes-yards 51-339 29-125

Passing yards 204 165

Total yards 543 290

Cmp-Att-Int 10-16-0 10-21-1

Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-1

Penalties-yards 11-100 8-55

Punts-average 2-26.5 2-32.0

Individual Leaders

RUSHING—Fairland: Nathan Campbell 13-113 2-TDs, Tyree Ceasar 18-100 2-TDs, Chance Short 10-59, Kyle Sowards 1-2, Dylan Murphy 6-61, Trey Nestor 1-minus 2, Austin Christian 1-2, Kobe Woodall 1-0, Derrick Willis 1-4; River Valley: Kyle Brown 13-105 TD, Dayton Hardway 1-1 TD, Austin Whobrey 4-minus 5, Austin Davies 7-13, Ethan Dovenbarger 1-4, Jacob Leach 3-7.

PASSING—Fairland: Chance Short 10-16-0 204 2-TD; River Valley: Dayton Hardway 9-20-1 154, Austin Whobrey 1-1-0 11.

RECEIVING—Fairland: Kyle Sowards 4-112 TD, Cody Midkiff 2-29 TD, Nathan Campbell 2-28, Luke Phillips 1-9, Tyree Ceasar 1-16; River Valley: Kyle Brown 2-44, Chris Clemente 2-41 TD, Austin Davies 1-17, Austin Whobrey 3-13, Austin Bradley 1-4.