Streaks Extended, Milestones Reached....Logan 35, Gallipolis 29

October 25, 2005

LOGAN - The ending was wild, but the game was routine for the Logan offense.  The Chieftains piled up 313 yards on the ground and got 3 touchdowns from senior tailback Kevin Call as Logan locked up a share of their league-leading 21st SEOAL title.  With a win at Warren next Friday, Logan would clinch the title outright.  The night had other milestones.  Head Coach Dale Amyx, in his 16th season as grid boss for the purple and white, won his 100th game and 11th SEOAL title.  Finally, the Chieftains made it eight straight wins in Southeastern Ohio Athletic League play.

Friday's game was a match-up of the league's top defenses, but you wouldn't have known it from the first quarter.  Both offenses exploded for 35 points and the scoreboard lit up like the Fourth of July.  The Blue Devils struck first.  Sophomore Jeff Golden connected with senior fullback Justin Saunders for a 23-yard touchdown and GAHS led early 6-0.  Joe Esmaeli's PAT missed it's mark.  The touchdown was set up by a 4th and 10 run by Dustin Winters on a fake field goal.

Logan answered a few minutes later.  The teams exchanged punts, and then Logan found themselves in scoring position thanks to the running of senior fullback Justin Coakley.  Coakley used his bowling ball style to pick up 58-yards on a run in which he beat several defenders to the corner, and then ran over one Blue Devil defender before racing down the sideline.  Call scored the first of his three touchdowns on the next play from six yards out.  Alex Hubbard's PAT was true, and Logan led 7-6.

The blue and white wasted no time regaining the lead.  The Blue Devils used a nice kick return by sophomre Chris McCoy, and a couple plays later Dustin Winters crossed the goal-line to give the lead back to the visitors.  Junior Jayme Haggerty added a two-point conversion for the Blue Devils.

Logan reached into it's bag of tricks to set up it's second score.  Michael Angle handed off to Coakley, who found a wide open Lucas Wright for a 56- yard gain to move Logan to the GAHS 13 yard line.  Call scored on the next play to even the score following Hubbard's PAT.

GAHS used a 7-play 59 yard drive to retake the lead as the quarter came to a close.  Junior Seth Haner scored on a draw play from seven yards out and Esmaeli's kick was good to stake the Blue Devils a 7-point lead.

Logan controlled the ball for most of the second quarter.  A 13-play 69-yard drive that last 6:34 evened the score for the last time.  Michael Angle was the key player on the drive.  The sophomore signal caller competed a key third down pass to tight-end Tony Ellis for 22 yards and a key fourth down pass to Justin Coakley that covered nine.  Finally, the sophomore connected with fellow classmate Lucas Wright for a 10-yard touchdown to even the score for the final time.  Wright beat GAHS junior cornerback Jayme Haggerty and made a beautifal over the shoulder catch.  Hubbard's PAT split the uprights to tie the score.

Following a GAHS punt, Logan completed their second quarter domination.  Kevin Call raced 60 yards on a third down play to give Logan the lead for good.  The senior broke two tackles near the line of scrimmage and then outraced the GAHS secondary.

GAHS didn't go away quietly.  They used a hook and ladder play with senior receiver Shaphen Robinson tossing to Haggerty.  The drive was halted however when Logan safety Lucas Wright intercepted Golden in the endzone.  Golden was injured on the play, and would be done for the evening.

As exciting as the first half was offensively, the second half was a mirror image.  The defenses established control, and two key special teams plays led to the only score of the third quarter.

Junior punter Tony Ellis of Logan pinned the Gallians deep in their own territory when his punt found the coffin corner, bouncing out at the GAHS 3-yard line.  The Chieftain defense held their ground, and the Blue Devils were forced to punt from their own endzone.  Senior noseguard Stephen Spears snuck through to block the kick, and senior end Tyson Kratzenburg fell on the ball to give Logan a much needed two-score lead.

The defensive slugfest continued until about midway through the fourth quarter.  With the Blue Devils driving, controversy struck when GAHS running back Dustin Winters was injured on first down run.  GAHS fans and coaches wanted a late hit penalty, and when the flags never flew the entire visitors side of the field erupted.  Gallia Academy coaches were called for unsportsman-like conduct, and proceeded to kick the penalty flags and one coach even picked a flag and tossed it back at an offical.  Winters was taken off the field by medics on the scene, but reports over the weekend say that Winters' injury was not serious.

Momentum swung following the time-out however.  Faced with a second and thirty, quarterback Shaphen Robinson picked up 50-yards on a scramble.  The Blue Devils had found their second wind, and the Chieftains looked shell shocked.  On the next play, Robinson connected with Haggerty at the one yard line and the junior split two LHS defenders to cross the goal line.  Haggerty, the holder on PATs, attempted a pass to tight end Brad Caudill, but Logan was whistled for interference on the play.  On the Blue Devils second try, Haggerty ran his second 2-point try of the evening.

The Blue and White caught Logan off guard on the following kick-off.  An onside kick was recovered by the visitors, and the home crowd started to get nervous.  Lucas Wright came through again.  The Sophomore intercepted Shaphen Robinson, and returned the pick 90 yards for an apparent Logan touchdown.  However, a hold was called against the Chiefs bringing the ball back.

GAHS would get one more posession, but Justin Coakley collared Robinson near midfield as time ran out.

Logan was led by it's senior running backs.  Thanks to an offensive line that kept up it's dominating pace, the duo broke the century mark for the second straight week.  Kevin Call gained 193 yards on 30 carries and Coakley added 128 on 11 carries.  Michael Angle completed 4-6 passes for 45 yards and a touchdown.  Lucas Wright intercepted two Blue Devil passes and caught two balls for 66 yards and one touchdown.

Logan will travel to Washington County to face the 1-8 Warren Warriors.  With a win Logan can clinch an outright SEOAL title.  Kick-off is slated for 7:30 PM.

PASSING
Gallia Academy: Jeff Golden 9-15-102-1TD-1INT, Shaphen Robinson 4-7-69-1TD-1INT, Jayme Haggerty 1-4-(-2)-0TD-0INT
Logan: Michael Angle 4-6-45-1TD-0INT, Justin Coakley 1-1-56-0TD-0INT

RECEIVING
Gallia Academy: Jaymes Haggerty 5-77 TD, Shaphen Robinson 5-35, Justin Saunders 3-43 TD, Todd Saunders 1-10, Chris McCoy 1-4
Logan: Lucas Wright 2-66 TD, Tony Ellis 1-22, Justin Coakley 1-9, Adam Stohs 1-4