Bluffton’s Daniel Fredritz (77) and Jacob Granger (59) try to clear a path for Landen Worcester (27) during Friday night’s Division VI regional semifinal against Ottawa Hills at Napoleon.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
NAPOLEON — Some days, Bluffton running back Landen Worcester sees wide open spaces to run when he hits the line.
On Friday night against Ottawa Hills, the openings weren’t quite as big, so he had to make an impact himself, delivering a hit and continuing to run. That proved to be a difference-maker as the Pirates won their regional semifinal, 34-0, at Napoleon’s Buckenmeyer Stadium.
Worcester finished with 26 carries for 179 yards rushing and four touchdowns, ranging from a 40-yard sprint full of finesse in the first quarter to a 1-yard brutal run up the middle in the fourth quarter.
“We told him, ‘You know, it’s not always going to be a nice, big hole to run through,’” Bluffton coach Jeff Richards said. “Sometimes you’ve got to get those dirty yards where you just run through the smoke and pop out on the other side. He puts in a lot of work all year long.”
Bluffton earned a rematch against Columbus Grove in the regional final next Friday, at a site to be announced Sunday. The Bulldogs beat Carey, 37-21.
Worcester said the Pirates (12-1) wanted to prove they belonged this far along in the playoffs, and the shutout victory against an 11-2 Ottawa Hills squad helps with that.
“We haven’t been in this position in a long time,” Worcester said. “I think it really meant something to us that we’re here. A lot of people didn’t think we could be here, so we played, I think, a little angrier than we usually do tonight.”
The defense delivered its ninth shutout of the season and effectively shut down the Green Bears’ Rocco Pillarelli. Pillarelli, who averages 107 yards per game, was held to 15 carries for 66 yards, with 43 of those coming in the second half when the outcome was all but decided.
“It’s playing together and everybody doing their assignments,” said Daniel Fredritz, a senior offensive and defensive lineman for Columbus Grove. “If we do our assignments, everything’s plugged up, and he couldn’t get anywhere.”
The Pirates only gave up 119 yards of offense, including a mere 24 yards in the first half. In comparison, Bluffton tallied 332 yards of total offense.
Quarterback Garret Bogart had a nice game rushing, with three carries for 50 yards. He delivered a fantastic fake hand-off before galloping untouched down the left side for a 28-yard touchdown run. On the same drive, he completed a swing pass to Braeden Jordan, which Jordan took 45 yards up the right side to set up the Pirates’ fourth TD of the game.
Now the Pirates get a rematch with Columbus Grove. Bluffton lost a 14-7 contest in the regular-season finale, which cost them a possible undefeated season and a Northwest Conference championship.
“The second we went in on Saturday morning and started watching film, we were ready for this rematch,” Worcester said. “We’re ready to go and give it everything we’ve got. We took one in Week 10, but I think we’re a better team than we were in Week 10. We’re ready.”
Game summary
Ottawa Hills Bluffton
8 First downs 15
119 Total yards 332
47 Rushing yards 287
72 Passing yardage 45
8-14-1 Passing 2-3-0
2-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-0
7-41 Punts 2-30
7-54 Penalties 2-20
Score by quarters:
Ottawa Hills 0 0 0 0 — 0
Bluffton 14 0 14 6 — 34
First quarter
B-Landen Worcester 40 run (Kyle Basil kick), 6:00
B-Landen Worcester 19 run (Kyle Basil kick), 1:36
Third quarter
B-Landen Worcester 4 run (Kyle Basil kick), 9:59
B-Garret Bogart 28 run (Kyle Basil kick), 2:06
Fourth quarter
B-Landen Worcester 1 run (kick blocked), 4:01
Dave Trinko wrote this story LimaScores.com. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
