Bluffton’s Braeden Jordan (11) celebrates with teammates Quinn Eachus (9), Gavin Bogart (21) and Hayden Dearth (17) after making a touchdown catch during Friday night’s home game against Pandora-Gilboa.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
BLUFFTON — All Landen Worcester heard about all week was Pandora-Gilboa’s passing game.
The Bluffton running back knew his team had some offense, too. That helped fuel him to run for 47 of his 162 yards on the game-winning drive, as the Pirates (2-0) grounded the Rockets, 28-21, on Friday night at Harmon Field.
“Nobody thought we were going to win this game,” said Worcester, a 5-11, 200-pound junior, “Nobody. Everybody thought they were just going to pass all over us. … It added fuel to our fire.”
That fire was evident on the game-winning drive. Worcester topped 125 yards for the second week in a row, getting stronger as the game went along both as a running weapon and as a linebacker, where he had an interception earlier in the game.
He really showed it on a 25-yard fourth-quarter run that easily could’ve been stopped as a 3-yard gain before he wiggled his way toward the sideline. After a 5-yard pickup on the next play, he blasted the final 10 yards up the middle for the go-ahead score with 3:05 left. He also scored on a 58-yard scamper in the second quarter.
That’s not to say Pandora-Gilboa (1-1) made it easy. The Rockets drove to Bluffton’s 31 yard line before Bluffton’s Gavin Bogart sealed the win with an interception with 44.4 seconds left on the clock, his second pick of the game.
“At the half, it was 14-14, and we challenged them to play a little bit better and be more disciplined in the second half,” Bluffton coach Jeff Richards said. “They did a phenomenal job.”
Pandora-Gilboa’s jet-fueled offense didn’t disappoint, passing for 322 yards. Sophomore quarterback Cory Gerten completed 32 of 45 passes for 322 yards and a touchdown, spreading the ball out to six different receivers. Colin Harris had 10-plus catches for the second week in row, grabbing 12 passed for 125 yards and a touchdown, while Aiden Morris had 11 catches for 109 yards. The Rockets did have four interceptions, though.
“We knew they had some of the best skilled players in the area,” Richards said. “Their receivers earned their reputation. They’re phenomenal players. Our defense did a good good job of bending but not breaking, getting some takeaways.”
Bluffton had some firepower of its own. On the Pirates’ first offensive possession of the game, Garret Bogart tossed a short pass to the right to Braeden Jordan, who did the rest of the work on a 67-yard passing play for the early 7-0 lead.
It’s a sweet victory for the Pirates, Worcester said.
“I’ve thought about this game every day since last year,” he said. “Every single night since last year, all I wanted to do was beat Pandora. And now we did.”
Game summary
Pandora-Gilboa Bluffton
21 First downs 14
362 Total yards 347
40 Rushing yards 218
322 Passing yardage 129
32-45-4 Passing 7-9-129
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
3-37.3 Punts 3-30.3
6-50 Penalties 10-97
Score by quarters:
Pandora-Gilboa 7 7 0 7 — 21
Bluffton 7 7 7 7 — 28
First quarter
B-Braeden Jordan 67 pass from Garret Bogart (Kyle Basil kick), 11:45
P-G-Ben Burkholder 3 run (Skylar Richardson kick), 7:14
Second quarter
B-Landen Worcester 58 run (Basil kick), 10:38
P-G-Colin Harris 18 pass from Cory Gerten (Richardson kick), 2:09
Third Quarter
B-Gavin Bogart 7 pass from Garret Bogart (Basil kick), 2:29
Fourth Quarter
P-G-Burkholder 1 run (Richardson kick), 7:17
B-Worcester 10 run (Basil kick), 3:05
David Trinko wrote this story for LimaScores.com. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
