MOHAWK 27, CAREY 14
By Kyle Holsinger
SYCAMORE — On a fourth-and-one late in the fourth quarter, Mohawk’s Kaleb Bish took the ball on a rush up the middle then cut to the left sideline before diving into the end zone to put the game out of reach for Northern 10 opponent Carey last night, 27-14.
“Jumbo. We love that set,” Mohawk’s Kaleb Bish said about his game-sealing score. “I think our guys get after it more because we're like ‘down and dirty’ in the trenches there. So, I guess that was a big momentum boost for us. We wanted it. We hadn’t beat Carey in six years.”
The senior trio of quarterback Ben Bogner and receivers Kahne Hayman and Bish were the offensive spark the Warriors needed to beat the Blue Devils for the first time since Sept. 14, 2018.
“We finally got out boys back,” Mohawk coach Eric Daniel said about Hayman and Bish’s return this week from injuries. “We’re a different team with those two.”
The first quarter...
Mohawk (7-2 overall, 5-1 Northern 10) went right down the field on their opening drive for a touchdown. On the second play from scrimmage, Bogner threw a screen pass to the right to Bish who cut across the field for a 37-yard gain. Two plays later, Bogner threw a deep pass to the left corner of the end zone to a wide open Bish for a 24-yard passing TD.
Mohawk led 7-0 with just 1:40 off of the game clock.
After holding Carey to a three-and-out, the Warriors got the ball back at their own 45-yard line. On second-and-six from midfield, Bogner completed a deep pass to Hayman for 44 yards to get into the red zone. The next play, sophomore running back Kaden Bish ran it up the middle for a 7-yard score.
The Warriors were up 14-0 under five minutes into the contest.
Carey (4-5, 4-2) then put together a decent drive, picking up three first downs to get into Mohawk territory. That’s when Blue Devil QB Kyler Boes rolled left and threw an interception to Kaleb Bish, giving Mohawk the ball at their own 41-yard line.
The Warriors were able to get to the Carey 27 on a Bogner screen pass to Hayman for 15 yards and a Bogner 17-yard keeper. From there, the Blue Devil defense was able to stiffen up and force Mohawk to turn the ball over on downs on a fourth-and-nine when Bogner’s deep pass fell incomplete.
A bad snap on Carey’s next drive resulted in a fumble recovery by Warrior defensive lineman Eli Chevalier at the Mohawk 35.
Thanks to a tackle-for-loss by defensive end Reid Blankenmeyer on third-and-two, the Blue Devils were able to force Mohawk into a three-and-out scenario.
Carey then went on a 13-play, 84-yard touchdown drive that lasted 7:13. The Blue Devils first got the chains moving on a four-yard rush by Eli Steen. Two plays later, Steen picked up another eight yards for a first down. Then, Boes scrambled to the left for a 17-yard run into Warrior territory.
A facemask penalty moved Carey to the Mohawk 17. A nine-yard run up the middle by Dash Puckett, and a five-yarder by Steen gave the Blue Devils a first-and-goal from the three-yard line. Two plays later, Steen punched it in from a yard out to make it a 14-7 score with only 1:30 left in the first half.
Carey took the opening drive of the second half 46 yards down the field over 11 plays before turning the ball over on downs at the Warrior 24.
On the third play of Mohawk’s ensuing drive, Bogner threw an interception to senior linebacker Brandon Tanner to give Carey great field position at the Warrior 32.
Unfortunately for Carey, they again turned the ball over on downs as Boes’ pass fell incomplete on fourth-and-seven.
The Warriors moved with a fury down the field with Bogner keeping it up the middle for an 18-yard advance to start the drive. Two plays later, Bogner rushed for another 10 yards to get to midfield. He then tossed a pass to Bish for a 12-yard completion.
A defensive pass interference call on Carey got Mohawk into the red zone. The next play, Bogner took a keeper to the left side for a 15-yard TD run.
Mohawk was leading 21-7 with 1:48 remaining in the third quarter.
The Devils didn’t put their heads down though. They were able to march the ball down the field 64 yards over 16 plays for a touchdown. The drive lasted a little over six minutes and was capped by Steen powering it in from a yard out for his second rushing TD of the night.
Carey trailed by seven with 7:44 to go in the game.
That’s when Mohawk drove down the field for Kaleb Bish’s 27-yard score to put the game away.
Carey did have an opportunity to try to mount a comeback, but Boes had his pass intercepted by Warrior junior Owen Patrizi.
"He's a baller, man," Coach Daniel said about Patrizi's interception and overall defensive performance. "A Tasmanian freaking devil. A little pitbull out there. He's just unbelievable."
Mohawk gained 335 yards of total offense with 175 yards passing and 160 yards rushing.
Bogner was 10-of-22 for 175 yards, one passing TD, one interception, 116 rushing yards, and a rushing TD. Hayman caught seven receptions for 102 yards to go along with his rushing TD. Kaleb Bish caught three passes for 73 yards and a receiving TD.
Carey had 290 total offensive yards with 233 of it on the ground and 57 yards through the air.
Steen had 29 carries for 146 rushing yards.
Mohawk heads to Seneca East (6-3, 5-1) to see who the outright N10 Champion will be, and Carey travels to Bucyrus (0-9, 0-6) next Friday.
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