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Barnesville fights off Monroe, 13-6

BARNESVILLE — Monroe Central took the drive up Ohio 800 on Friday night and got a heavy dose of Caden Lake.

Lake rushed 34 times for 163 yards and two scores as Barnesville utilized a potent ground attack in holding off Monroe Central, 13-6, in a chilly home finale Shamrock Stadium.

“Obviously, with a backup quarterback in and we were running the ball so well, we just kind of kept riding him all night,” Shamrocks head coach Blake Allen said of Lake, who appeared to have the dirtiest uniform of anyone on the field. “He ran the ball hard.

“I thought the line blocked for him very well, and the fullbacks, too. He just kind of did the rest.”

With injuries at quarterback, the Shamrocks went to Lake almost exclusively in snapping a four-game losing skid after opening the campaign with a trio of victories.

And why not. The 5-10, 237-pound bruiser was a haul for the Seminoles’ defense to bring down all night on the damp natural grass surface, including on both scoring drives and the final march that ran out the clock after Monroe Central pulled to within a score late.

After turning the ball over three times in its first four possessions — all in the red zone (fumble, interception, downs) — Monroe Central (3-5) finally got on the board with 5:15 left the game.

The Seminoles crafted a 10-play 53-yard drive, highlighted by a pair of huge hookups from Malachi Rose-Burton to senior Talin Babcock. The first came on 4th-and-9 at the ‘Noles 48 and went for 26 yards. It got Monroe Central out of what had been a 3rd-and-15 hole. The second was a 23-yard dart down the right sideline that put the visitors at the 4. Rose-Burton, a sophomore, recorded four of his team-high 62 rushing yards on the next play for the TD. The extra-point failed.

“(Malachi) made some plays and the line gave us some time,” Monroe Central head coach Josh Ischy said. “We ran our scramble drill and it was him going around and being an athlete and throwing it to another one of our athletes.”

Barnesville got the ball back at its own 42 and used Lake to elapse time.

Lake rushed two for four yards before being taken down for a 1-yard loss by Garet Cramer on 3rd-and-2. But on 4th-and-3, the Seminoles were flagged for offsides giving the Shamrocks (4-4) a fresh set of downs. Lake got the call five more times, including on 3rd-and-3, which he bulled his way for 10 yards on a play that sealed the victory.

“That was huge,” Allen said of the fourth-down play. “I’m really proud of our kids. We’ve had issues with penalties and kind of being undisciplined. We went on a hard count a couple of plays and didn’t jump. I was proud of that.”

Keen execution also figured into the game’s opening score.

With the teams locked in a defensive stalemate with less than 5 minutes left in the first half, Allen delved into his bag of tricks on 4th-and-2 at its own 49.

In punt formation, the ball was snapped to Lake, who rumbled up the middle for an 11-yard gain. Seven plays later, his 10-yard run put the Shamrocks on the board, capping a 15-play, 82-yard march.

Ischy said he sensed something was afoot on the play, but was powerless to stop it.

“Huge play,” he said. “We kind of anticipated it, but they still converted it. That was a heckuva statement on their part. Those are the kind of plays you need to make if you’re going to win games like this.”

At the end of the day, Ischy continued, his team simply failed to capitalize on their opportunities in the redzone, one of which stopped on the 2 with a fumble.

“It’s hard to overcome that, but credit to them,” he said.

The Seminoles return home for the final two games of the season starting next week vs. Frontier (7-1). Barnesville, meanwhile, heads north.

“We had a tough month there was some tough losses,” Allen said. “But the kids’ effort hasn’t fazed at all.

“This was a big win for us and, now, we have to go play a tough Toronto (6-2) team next week and try to finish this thing right.”

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