Barnesville Starts Strong, Remains Unbeaten With Monroe Central Rout
Shamrocks Score Touchdowns On First Seven Possessions In 48-6 Win
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BARNESVILLE - Barnesville scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions and the defense stymied visiting Monroe Central, 48-6, Thursday night in high school football action at humidity-filled Shamrock Stadium.
The Shamrocks (5-0) saw standout tailback Trey Toliver run for 177 yards and four touchdowns - all in the first half - and quarterback Colt Carpenter completed all six of his passes for 138 yards and a TD while also running for 47 more and another six-pointer.
"That's pretty good. I told the kids that I thought that is the best we've played all season," Barnesville head coach Blake Allen said. "We were clicking on all cylinders. We had that one drive where we sputtered a little bit, but Colt pulled it out with a Superman-type of effort which was awesome."
Barnesville won the opening coin toss and took just four plays to go 74 yards as Toliver took a handoff and sprinted 62 yards around right end. Linas Graef booted the first of his six PATs and it was quickly 7-0.
On the Seminoles (3-2) second offensive snap, Cooper Howell completed a pass to Maddox Henderson for short yardage but the ball came loose and Talon Anderson recovered for Barnesville at the Monroe Central 22.
"That didn’t help our cause," Monroe Central head coach Jonathan Calder said. "They have a good team and the Toliver kid runs like an animal. He's a tough kid and always has been. It's hard to stop them. I thought we could've done a little more, but ... ."
After losing two yards on first down, Toliver busted up the gut and rambled 24 yards, shedding tackles along the way, to make it 14-0.
Toliver surpassed the 100-yard mark on the Shamrocks third series of downs and capped the drive with a 7-yard TD run. Graef made it 21-0.
Anderson and Phoenix Graham put a halt to the next Monroe Central possession, forcing a punt.
Starting at their own 17, the Shamrocks needed a mere three plays to go the distance as Colt Carpenter connected with Evan Carpenter - no relation - on a nifty 47-yard pass-and-run as the lead ballooned to 28-0 on the first play of the second quarter.
Colt Carpenter, who has endured an injury-filled career and missed two-and-a-half games earlier this season, dazzled the crowd with a 24-yard touchdown run in which he scrambled out of trouble in the pocket, saw running room to his left and then tight-roped down the near sideline.
"That was exciting," Carpenter admitted. "I didn't think I was going to get through but with the help of my teammates, I did."
Allen said having Carpenter healthy is a big key for his team.
"It's good to have him back on the field. He got knocked out in the first half of the opener. We kind of eased him back last week, but he's really feeling good now," the coach said. "That brings another element to our offense. Teams have to guard against Trey so much that our offense gets even better with Colt playing like he did tonight.""
Toliver put a capper on his outstanding first half with a 16-yard burst off left tackle and Graef made it 42-0 at the half.
Wyatt Leek picked off a Jett Kaiser pass early in the third quarter, which was played with a running clock mandated by the OHSAA's 30-point mercy rule, which led to a 3-yard TD run by Mac Boroski. The PAT was blocked.
Monroe Central recovered a bad snap in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, with Bentley Lucas completing a 29-yard pass to Hunter Habig and Lyle Michener found the end zone from a yard out.
Barnesville amassed 492 yards on 44 offensive snaps, with 322 of that total coming on the ground as the offensive line of Braxton Byers, Austin Armstrong, Christien Hannahs, Kevin Phillips and Anderson paved the way.
Meanwhile the defensive front of the Shamrocks - Jaxton Swallie, Byers, Kaiden Berry and Anderson - kept the Seminoles at bay with just 73 yards on 29 offensive snaps.
"Our defense is getting better and better every week. Hats off to my brother and defensive coordinator, Bryce Allen, for the job he and his staff have done." Blake Allen said. "We've got some first-year starters out there and they are hungry."
"Nothing really went our way tonight," Calder noted. "Barnesville's been a good team for quite a while, so we've got to re-group. We've got another tough opponent - Wheeling Central - next week."
Meanwhile, Barnesville remains at home as Harrison Central visits.
Barnesville now leads the all-time series with Monroe Central, 18-11, and holds a 46-24-2 against Woodsfield/Monroe Central. The Shamrocks have won the past nine in the series and 10 of the last 11. The Seminoles last won in 2017.