The Chiefs scored on five consecutive first-half offensive possessions, tacking 33 points on the scoreboard in less than 12 minutes’ worth of actual game time, and eased to a 40-7 win for their fourth straight victory to open the season.

Quarterback Patrick Angle accounted for five Logan touchdowns — two rushing and three passing, including one when he scrambled about 50 yards before hitting fellow junior Mason Mays with a dump-off pass that turned into a 70-yard scoring play — and the Logan defense limited Gallia Academy (2-2) to just two first downs and 22 yards of total offense in the first half.

It was a night of offensive struggles all around for the Blue Devils who, other than a 67-yard scoring run by Nate Allison in the fourth quarter, managed just 56 yards of total offense otherwise.

Due to injuries, Gallipolis was down to its third quarterback, sophomore Tyler Easton, and senior wide receiver Beau Whaley also lined up in the signal-calling position as the game wore on.

“I was worried all week about focus and all the (Gallipolis) injuries, but it’s Gallipolis and they were 2-1,” Logan coach Dale Amyx said. “These (Logan) kids haven’t been around as long as I have and had as many wars with Gallipolis as I have.”

The Purple & White went into this war well-stocked, however, and after misfiring on their first offensive series, went into charge mode the rest of the first half.

“That first series I think we were a little flat, but the kids came out and executed when they had to and got it done,” Amyx said.

Angle capped off a five-play, 43-yard scoring drive by tallying on an 8-yard keeper with 6:59 to play in the opening period.

On that drive, however, the Chieftains lost junior tailback/defensive back Zach McDaniel for at least four weeks with an injury. He sustained a separated shoulder when a Gallia defender brought him down by the facemask while making a tackle.

It’s been a tough season for Chieftain tailbacks. Senior Clay Morgan missed the last game-and-a-half with a knee injury; he returned Friday night, but played exclusively on defense.

“That knee’s still a little stiff and the word I keep getting is let him play through it,” Amyx noted. “I thought the best thing to do was play him on the defensive side and see how it felt… and now we’re going to need him back on the offensive side.”

The Chiefs then turned to Mays, who filled the tailback role quite well, thank you. He led the team with 85 yards on just eight carries in addition to catching three passes for 96 yards.

“Mays plays a great tailback. Before Zach went down, we really felt we had three outstanding tailbacks,” Amyx noted. “Now we’re down to two. Mason does a great job… now it’s is his time. He’s going to get the reps in there until Clay’s knee heals up completely, then he and Clay will be the guys who rotate.”

That also gives future Logan foes something more to prepare for when they watch Chieftain game films and look at scouting reports. Mays will likely get the bulk of the carries as Morgan’s knee continues to heal, and it’s hoped McDaniel will be back for the last couple games of the season.

The Chiefs also got senior defensive end/tight end Jon Neff back Friday night and senior offensive linemen David Schneider and Weston Andy saw some action as well. McDaniel thus goes on the injury shelf while four other walking wounded begin to come back.

“One thing that does for our offense is that it’s created some huge depth for our offensive line,” Amyx said. “We’re three-deep at guard now, four-deep at tackle (and) have kids who can play guard and tackle, so we have a lot things we can do.

“We have to do a little more of that on defense… get some bigger kids (playing) because there’s going to come a time, maybe next week, where we’re going to have to go with a bigger lineup,” he added. “And that’s coming. We’re getting to the point with (Schneider and Andy) coming in there. They’ve just missed so much and getting in playing shape takes awhile. David’s getting there and this was Weston’s first duty tonight.

“We don’t want to make too many changes too quick because things have been working pretty good for us.”

Gallipolis went three-and-out on all three of its first-quarter possessions, losing one net yard on offense. And it was Neff and fellow senior Stephen Miller who set the tone with a quarterback sack on the Blue Devils’ opening series.

“The kids played lights-out all night on defense and swarmed to the ball,” Amyx praised. “We’re starting to get some more guys rotating in there and creating some depth, although we lost Zach (and) that hurts us for skill positions. That hurts losing a kid like him who can play so many positions. Somebody else is going to have to step up now.”

“So far our depth has been a luxury,” said Logan offensive coordinator Kelly Wolfe. “Our depth has been seriously tested the last two weeks. We’ve gotten kids like Korey Swaim and Jordan Rutter in there (and) Mason Mays has played two different positions. We’ve had to move some people around, but we’ve got some talented kids who can do a lot of things.

“Like we’ve told the kids, we haven’t missed a beat no matter who we put in there,” he added. “We keep running what we want to run and doing things we need to do, and the kids are right there with us. That’s a tribute to them, too… they’re paying attention and picking up on the offense.”

Facing third-and-10 from his own 30-yard line on the Chiefs’ second offensive series, Angle went back to pass and was flushed out of the pocket. He scrambled to his right, then cut back all the way across the field to his left, running about 50 yards to find an opening.

He then flipped a dump pass to a wide-open Mays near midfield, and Mays knew what to do with it. He went the distance and the Blue Devils got nary a hand on him.

“Patrick can create so many things in there,” Amyx noted. “With him scrambling and buying some time — he was getting some good protection — and everything covered up, he ran and came back and bam, sees a guy wide open. That’s fun to watch.”

Angle connected with Zach Adams on a pretty 21-yard post-pattern scoring aerial in the latter seconds of the quarter as the Chieftains opened a 20-0 lead.

Then, early in the second quarter, after hitting Jaushua Huntsberger with a 38-yard deep ball down the right sideline, and with Mays taking a pitchout 18 yards, the Chieftains drove deep into Gallia territory again and Angle scored his second rushing TD on a 4-yard keeper.

Angle then topped off his night by hitting Mays in the left flat with a short pass that Mays turned into a 21-yard scoring play after Angle fooled everyone with a lovely fake-reverse to Huntsberger. Mays again scored untouched.

The Chiefs could have led as much as 43-0 at halftime but had another Angle TD pass (also to Adams) called back on a penalty and also missed a field goal.

Neff played some quarterback in the third quarter as Angle took the rest of the night off, and he completed his only pass — a nifty slant-in that Adams turned into a 49-yard scoring jaunt — to finish off Logan’s scoring late in the third stanza.

Angle connected on 8-of-13 passes for 186 yards. Mays accounted for 181 yards of offense, and two of Adams’ receptions went for six points.

The Chiefs now can focus squarely on Ironton in a huge Southeastern Ohio Athletic League tilt next Friday.

“We’ll see where we’re at (as a team),” he said. “They’re a big, strong physical team, and we’ve beaten a couple big, strong physical teams this year. We’ll see where we stand.”
 

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