Bath’s Jeremy James (84), Liam Sullivan (44) and Keaton Vernon (22) pursue Celina’s Jon Lutz during Friday night’s game at Bath.
Don Speck | The Lima News
BATH TOWNSHIP — One week at a time.
That has been the mantra for the Celina football program this season.
Celina came into Friday’s contest against Bath, as the only team in the Western Buckeye League with an unblemished league record.
Celina took care of business Friday on the road, as it pulled away from Bath in the second half for a 52-36 victory over the Wildcats.
With the win, Celina improves to 6-0 in the WBL and 6-1 overall. Bath slips to 3-3 in league play and 4-3 overall.
After Celina took a 28-22 lead into the halftime break, the Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders in the second half and pulled away.
Celina head coach Brennen Bader has been preaching to his team the importance of not looking ahead.
“We love where we are. It’s one week at a time,” Bader said. “We know what is in front of us. We’re just taking it one day at a time, and one week at a time. We’ll see where that takes us.
“We tell the kids to never look up at the clock, and do not look ahead to the next team that we play. It’s all about one at a time. We’ll enjoy tonight, and then get ready for O-G (Ottawa-Glandorf), who is always aggressive and coached really well.”
Bath moved the football against Celina’s defense.
On the night, Bath churned up 187 rushing yards. In the air, sophomore quarterback Zach Welsch was 11 of 29 passing for 171 yards, two touchdowns and threw two interceptions. Welsch also rushed for 30 yards on 13 carries and had two TD runs.
Welsch’s favorite receiver Friday was Kahne Sullivan, who had four catches for 69 yards. Mikey Hale came out of the backfield to haul in three passes for 54 yards. Logan Markley had three catches for 30 yards and had a TD reception. Ethan Cole had one catch on the night – an 18-yard TD reception.
On the ground, Mikey Hale led Bath and all rushers with 142 yards on 24 carries with a TD run.
“That’s a good football team,” Bader said about Bath. “They’re physical. They’re big up front. Their quarterback and running back are solid. They have players all over the field.”
Bath jumped out to a 14-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. Celina roared back and led 28-22 by the halftime break.
By the end of the third stanza, the Bulldogs’ lead had ballooned to 42-29.
Leading the way for Celina’s offensive unit was Braylon Gabes, who rushed for 120 yards on 10 carries, and had TD runs of 60, 16, 2, 1, and 26 yards. Teammate Jon Lutz rushed for 88 yards on 10 touches. For the game, Celina rolled up 267 rushing yards.
Celina quarterback Bobby Morris was 5 of 7 passing for 111 yards. Morris had a 58-yard TD pass to Lutz. Morris threw one interception on the night.
Celina’s special teams made a couple big plays Friday night.
In the third quarter, Celina’s Zander Jones ran a kick-off back 85 yards for a TD. In the fourth quarter, kicker Zach Greber booted a 42-yard field goal for the Bulldogs.
“We started out the way we wanted to,” Bader said. “But we gave up too many big plays, whether it was on special teams, or on defense. We got to get better.
“But all-in-all, I’m happy how the offense was able to move the ball and get big-chunk plays. They responded to every adversity that presented itself.”
For the game, Bath recorded 20 first downs. Celina moved the first-down marker 14 times.
Game summary
Score by quarters:
Celina 7 21 14 10 – 52
Bath 14 8 7 7 – 36
Scoring:
Celina–Braylon Gabes 60 run (Zach Greber kick)
Bath– Logan Markley 12 pass from Zach Welsch (Jacob Lepley kick)
Bath –Mikey Hale 8 run (Jacob Lepley kick)
Celina – Jon Lutz 58 pass from Bobby Morris (Zach Greber kick)
Celina – Braylon Gabes 16 run (Zach Greber kick)
Celina – Braylon Gabes 2 run (Zach Greber kick)
Bath – Ethan Cole 18 pass from Zach Welsch (run good)
Celina – Zander Jones 85 kick-off TD run (Zach Greber kick)
Bath – Zach Welsch 1 run (Jacob Lepley kick)
Celina – Braylon Gabes 26 run (Zach Greber kick)
Celina – Zach Greber 42-yard FG
Celina – Braylon Gabes 1 run (Zach Greber kick)
Bath – Zach Welsch 1 run (Jacob Lepley kick)
Celina Bath
14 First downs 20
378 Total yardage 358
267 Rushing yardage 187
111 Passing yardage 171
5-7-1 Passing (Com-Att-Int) 11-29-2
2-1 Fumbles-Lost 3-1
1-35.0 Punts-Average 4-32.8
5-45 Penalties-Yards 2-9
Individual leaders:
Passing: Celina -Bobby Morris 5-7-111; Bath- Zach Welsch 11-29-171.
Rushing: Celina -Braylon Gabes 10-120; Bath- Mikey Hale 24-142.
Receiving: Celina- Jon Lutz 1-58; Bath – Kahne Sullivan 4-69.
Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
